They areannual orperennial plants, mostlyaquatic and growing in still or slow-moving water up to 0.5 metres (20 in) deep. The species vary greatly in size, with small species only 5 centimetres (2 in) tall, while others can reach 5 metres (16 ft) in height. Common names includepapyrus sedges,flatsedges,nutsedges,umbrella-sedges andgalingales. The stems are circular in cross-section in some, triangular in others, usually leafless for most of their length, with the slendergrass-like leaves at the base of the plant, and in awhorl at the apex of the flowering stems. Theflowers are greenish andwind-pollinated; they are produced in clusters among the apical leaves. Theseed is a smallnutlet.[4][5][6]
Cyperus microcristatus (fromCameroon) andC. multifolius (native toPanama andEcuador) are possiblyextinct; the former was only found once, in 1995, and the latter has not been seen in the last 200 years. The "true" papyrus sedge ofAncient Egypt,C. papyrus subsp.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 theWadi El Natrun region and northernSudan.
Some tuber-bearing species on the other hand, most significantly the purple nutsedge,C. rotundus, are consideredinvasive weeds in much of the world.
Thechufa flatsedge (C. esculentus) has edibletubers and is grown commercially for these; they are eaten as vegetables, made into sweets, or used to produce thehorchata in theValencia region. Several other species – e.g.Australian bush onion (C. bulbosus) – are eaten to a smaller extent. For some NorthernPaiutes,Cyperus tubers were a mainstay food, to the extent that they were known astövusi-dökadö ("nutsedge tuber eaters")[11]
Priprioca (C. articulatus) is one of the traditionalspices of theAmazon region and its reddishessential oil is used commercially both by the cosmetic industry, and increasingly as aflavoring for food.[12][13] Interest is increasing in the larger, fast-growing species as crops forpaper andbiofuel production.
^Win Huygh; Isabel Larridon; Marc Reynders; A. Muthama Muasya; Rafaël H. A. Govaerts; David A. Simpson; Paul Goetghebeur (2010). "Nomenclature and typification of names of genera and subdivisions of genera in Cypereae (Cyperaceae): 1. Names of genera in theCyperus clade".Taxon.59 (6):1883–1890.doi:10.1002/tax.596021.
^G. E. Schatz, S. Andriambololonera, Andrianarivelo, M. W. Callmander, Faranirina, P. P. Lowry, P. B. Phillipson, Rabarimanarivo, J. I. Raharilala, Rajaonary, Rakotonirina, R. H. Ramananjanahary, B. Ramandimbisoa, A. Randrianasolo, N. Ravololomanana, Z. S. Rogers, C. M. Taylor & G. A. Wahlert (2011).Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar. Monographs in Systematic Botany.Missouri Botanical Garden.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) byElse Marie Friis, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985
^Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3–117.
^abcdBrickell, Christopher, ed. (2008).The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 302.ISBN9781405332965.
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