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Cyperus

(Genus)

Overview

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Cyperus is a large genus of about 600 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions. They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving water up to 0.5 m deep. The species vary greatly in size, with small species only 5 cm tall, while others can reach 5 m in height. Common names include papyrus sedges, flatsedges, nutsedges, umbrella-sedges and galingales.

The stems are circular in cross-section in some, triangular in others, usually leafless for most of their length, with the slender grass-like leaves at the base of the plant, and in a whorl at the apex of the flowering stems. The flowers are greenish, and wind pollinated; they are produced in clusters among the apical leaves. The seed is a small nutlet.

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Cyperus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidopte ra species, including Batrachedra cuniculata. The seeds and tubers are an important food for many small birds and mammals.

Cyperus microcristatus and C. multifolius are possibly extinct; the former was only found once, in 1995, and the latter has not been seen in the last 200 years. The "true" papyrus sedge of Ancient Egypt, C. papyrus ssp. hadidii, is also very rare today due to draining of its wetland habitat; feared extinct in the mid-20th century, it is still found at a few sites in the Wadi El Natrun region and northern Sudan.

Some tuber-bearing species on the other hand, most significantly the Purple Nutsedge (C. rotundus), are considered invasive weeds.

Use by humans

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Papyrus Sedge (C. papyrus) of Africa was of major historical importance in providing papyrus. C. giganteus, locally known as ca?ita, is used by the Yokot'an Maya of Tabasco, Mexico, for weaving petates (sleeping mats) and sombreros. C. textilis and C. pangorei are traditionally used to produce the typical mats of Palakkad in India, and the makaloa mats of Niihau were made from C. laevigatus.

The Chufa Flatsedge (C. esculentus) has edible tubers and is grown commercially for these; they are eaten as vegetables, made into sweets, or used to produce the horchata of the Valencia region. Several other species - e.g. Australian Bush Onion (C. bulbosus) - are eaten to a smaller extent. For some Northern Paiutes, Cyperus tubers were a mainstay food, to the extent that they were known as t?vusi-d?kad? ("nutsedge tuber eaters").[verification needed]

Most species are of little economic value. Some are grown as ornamental or pot plants, namely the Umbrella Papyrus (C. alternifolius ), the Dwarf Umbrella-sedge (C. albostriatus, formerly called C. diffusus), and related species. There is increasing interest in the larger, fast-growing species as crops for paper and biofuel production.

Some Cyperus are used in folk medicine. Roots of Near East species were a component of kyphi, a medical incense of Ancient Egypt. Purple Nutsedge (C. rotundus) tubers are used in Kampo. An unspecified Cyperus is mentioned as an abortifacient in the 11th-century poem De viribus herbarum[1].

Selected species

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Umbrella Papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius)
Cyperus capitatus
Variable Flatsedge, Cyperus difformis
Cyperus hillebrandii ssp. decipiens
Cyperus javanicus
Cyperus laevigatus
Cyperus luzulae from Brazilian Atlantic Coast restingas
Cyperus phleoides

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Riddle (1992)
  2. ^ Bussmann, R. W., et al. (2006). Plant use of the Maasai of Sekenani Valley, Maasai Mara, Kenya. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2 22.
>Cyperus is a large genus of about 600 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions. They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving water up to 0.5 m deep. The species vary greatly in size, with small species only 5 cm tall, while others can reach 5 m in height. Common names include papyrus sedges, flatsedges, nutsedges, umbrella-sedges and galingales.

The stems are circular in cross-section in some, triangular in others, usually leafless for most of their length, with the slender grass-like leaves at the base of the plant, and in a whorl at the apex of the flowering stems. The flowers are greenish, and wind pollinated; they are produced in clusters among the apical leaves. The seed is a small nutlet.

[ Back to top ]

Cyperus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Batrachedra cuniculata. The seeds and tubers are an important food for many small birds and mammals.

Cyperus microcristatus and C. multifolius are possibly extinct; the former was only found once, in 1995, and the latter has not been seen in the last 200 years. The "true" papyrus sedge of Ancient Egypt, C. papyrus ssp. hadidii, is also very rare today due to draining of its wetland habitat; feared extinct in the mid-20th century, it is still found at a few sites in the Wadi El Natrun region and northern Sudan.

Some tuber-bearing species on the other hand, most significantly the Purple Nutsedge (C. rotundus), are considered invasive weeds.

Use by humans

[ Back to top ]

Papyrus Sedge (C. papyrus) of Africa was of major historical importance in providing papyrus. C. giganteus, locally known as ca?ita, is used by the Yokot'an Maya of Tabasco, Mexico, for weaving petates (sleeping mats) and sombreros. C. textilis and C. pangorei are traditionally used to produce the typical mats of Palakkad in India, and the makaloa mats of Niihau were made from C. laevigatus.

The Chufa Flatsedge (C. esculentus) has edible tubers and is grown commercially for these; they are eaten as vegetables, made into sweets, or used to produce the horchata of the Valencia region. Several other species - e.g. Australian Bush Onion (C. bulbosus) - are eaten to a smaller extent. For some Northern Paiutes, Cyperus tubers were a mainstay food, to the extent that they were known as t?vusi-d?kad? ("nutsedge tuber eaters").[verification needed]

Most species are of little economic value. Some are grown as ornamental or pot plants, namely the Umbrella Papyrus (C. alternifolius ), the Dwarf Umbrella-sedge (C. albostriatus, formerly called C. diffusus), and related species. There is increasing interest in the larger, fast-growing species as crops for paper and biofuel production.

Some Cyperus are used in folk medicine. Roots of Near East species were a component of kyphi, a medical incense of Ancient Egypt. Purple Nutsedge (C. rotundus) tubers are used in Kampo. An unspecified Cyperus is mentioned as an abortifacient in the 11th-century poem De viribus herbarum[1].

Selected species

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Umbrella Papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius)
Cyperus capitatus
Variable Flatsedge, Cyperus difformis
Cyperus hillebrandii ssp. decipiens
Cyperus javanicus
Cyperus laevigatus
Cyperus luzulae from Brazilian Atlantic Coast restingas
Cyperus phleoides

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Riddle (1992)
  2. ^ Bussmann, R. W., et al. (2006). Plant use of the Maasai of Sekenani Valley, Maasai Mara, Kenya. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2 22.

References

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  • Riddle, John M. (1992): Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

External links

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Taxonomy

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The Genus Cyperus is further organized into finer groupings including:

References

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External links

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Riddle (1992)

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 14:31:44