Moth / Rice Flat Sedge
Cyperus iria
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand & more
- Flowering
- October-January
How to identify Moth
Identify Moth by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Common rice-paddy weed.
- Confirm flower colour: Golden-brown.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: October-January.
- In India, compare location records such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Cyperaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Moth.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cyperus iria
- Genus
- Cyperus
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Degraded deciduous forests, marshy areas and paddy fields
- Native to
- Africa, Asia
- Distribution
- Tropical & sub-tropical regions of both hemispheres
- Found in India
- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Telangana
- Flowering & fruiting
- October-January
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Cyperaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Golden-brownrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Achene
Characters marked “recorded” are for Moth itself; the rest are typical of the Cyperaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- मोथ Moth
- Nepali
- मोथे Mothe, छाता मोथे Chhaataa Mothe, छतरे मोथे Chatare Mothe
- Kannada
- ಜೇಕು Jeku, ಜೇಕು ಕಸ Jeku Kasa, ಜೇಕಿನ ಹುಲ್ಲು Jekin Hullu
About Moth
A member of the Cyperaceae family, Rice Flat Sedge (Cyperus iria) is a herb. In India it has been recorded in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and 17 other states. It grows in degraded deciduous forests, marshy areas and paddy fields. Flowering and fruiting run from October to January.
Cyperaceae
Sedge family
Moth belongs to the Cyperaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Cyperaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Moth or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides