Cyperus

{{Short description|Genus of plants}} {{Distinguish|Cyprus}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2022}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|15.97|Recent|Middle Miocene – Recent}} |image = Cyperus diffusus1.jpg |image_caption = Dwarf umbrella-sedge, ''Cyperus albostriatus'' |taxon = Cyperus |authority = L. |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = About 700 |synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO>{{cite POWO |id=330001-2 |title=''Cyperus'' L. |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> |synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}} *''Acorellus'' Palla ''ex'' Kneuck. *''Adupla'' Bosc ''ex'' Juss. *''Aliniella'' J.Raynal, ''nom. illeg.'', ''non'' Skvortzow *''Alinula'' J.Raynal *''Androcoma'' Nees *''Androtrichum'' (Brongn.) Brongn. *''Anosporum'' Nees *''Antrolepis'' Welw. *''Ascolepis'' Nees *''Ascopholis'' C.E.C.Fisch. *''Atomostylis'' Steud. *''Borabora'' Steud. *''Chlorocyperus'' Rikli *''Comostemum'' Nees *''Courtoisina'' Soják *''Crepidocarpus'' Klotzsch ''ex'' Boeckeler *''Cylindrolepis'' Boeckeler *''Cyprolepis'' Steud. *''Diclidium'' Schrad. ''ex'' Nees *''Didymia'' Phil. *''Distimus'' Raf. *''Duval-jouvea'' Palla *''Epiphystis'' Trin. *''Eucyperus'' Rikli *''Galilea'' Parl. *''Hedychloe'' Raf. *''Hemicarpha'' Nees *''Hydroschoenus'' Zoll. & Moritzi *''Hypaelyptum'' Vahl *''Indocourtoisia'' Bennet & Raizada *''Juncellus'' C.B.Clarke *''Killinga'' T.Lestib. *''Kyllinga'' Rottb. *''Kyllingiella'' R.W.Haines & Lye *''Lipocarpha'' R.Br. *''Lyprolepis'' Steud. *''Mariscopsis'' Cherm. *''Marisculus'' Goetgh *''Mariscus'' Gaertn., ''nom. illeg.'', ''non'' Scop. *''Mariscus'' Vahl, ''nom. cons.'' *''Megarrhena'' Schrad. ex Nees *''Opetiola'' Gaertn. *''Oxycaryum'' Nees *''Papyrus'' Willd. *''Platylepis'' Kunth *''Pseudomariscus'' Rauschert *''Pterachne'' Schrad. ex Nees *''Pterocyperus'' Opiz *''Pterogyne'' Schrad. ex Nees *''Pycreus'' P.Beauv. *''Queenslandiella'' Domin *''Raynalia'' Soják *''Remirea'' Aubl. *''Rikliella'' J.Raynal *''Sorostachys'' Steud. *''Sphaerocyperus'' Lye *''Sphaeromariscus'' E.G.Camus *''Thryocephalon'' J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. *''Torreya'' Raf. *''Torulinium'' Desv. ''ex'' Ham. *''Trentepohlia'' Boeckeler *''Ungeria'' Nees ''ex'' C.B.Clarke *''Volkiella'' Merxm. & Czech {{hidden end}} }}

'''''Cyperus''''' is a large genus of about 700 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions.<ref name=opoly>{{cite web |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=235513 |work=Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |title=''Cyperus'' L., Sp. Pl.: 44 (1753) |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=22 March 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Win Huygh |author2=Isabel Larridon |author3=Marc Reynders |author4=A. Muthama Muasya |author5=Rafaël H. A. Govaerts |author6=David A. Simpson |author7=Paul Goetghebeur |year=2010 |title=Nomenclature and typification of names of genera and subdivisions of genera in Cypereae (Cyperaceae): 1. Names of genera in the ''Cyperus'' clade |journal=Taxon |volume=59 |issue=6 |pages=1883–1890 |doi=10.1002/tax.596021 |bibcode=2010Taxon..59.1883H }}</ref>

The word comes from the ancient Greek κύπερος (''kúperos''), which meant one or several species of this genus. Common names include ''papyrus sedges'', ''flatsedges'', ''nutsedges'', ''umbrella-sedges'', ''galingales'', and ''zozoro'' (from Malagasy).

== Description == They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving water up to {{convert|0.5|m|in}} deep. The species vary greatly in size, with small species only {{convert|5|cm|0}} tall, while others can reach {{convert|5|m}} in height. 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.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gordon C. Tucker |author2=Brian G. Marcks |author3=J. Richard Carter |year=2003 |series=Flora of North America |editor=Flora of North Americaial Committee |volume=23 |title=Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae |pages=141–191 |chapter=''Cyperus'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 44. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 26. 1754 |publisher=Oxford University Press |chapter-url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=109010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=C. D. Adams |year=1994 |chapter=5. ''Cyperus'' L. |volume=6 |pages=423–440 |editor=G. Davidse |editor2=M. Sousa Sánchez |editor3=A. O. Chater |title=Flora Mesoamericana |publisher=Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México |location=Mexico City}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=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 |year=2011 |title=Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar |series=Monographs in Systematic Botany |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden}}</ref>

==Ecology== ''Cyperus'' species are eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including ''Chedra microstigma''. They also provide an alternative food source for ''Bicyclus anynana'' larvae.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rinny E. Kooi |author2=Paul M. Brakefield |author3=William E. M.-T. Rossie |year=1996 |title=Effects of food plant on phenotypic plasticity in the tropical butterfly ''Bicyclus anynana'' |journal=Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=149–151 |doi=10.1111/j.1570-7458.1996.tb00906.x|bibcode=1996EEApp..80..149K |s2cid=221678693 }}</ref> The seeds and tubers are an important food for many small birds and mammals.

''Cyperus microcristatus'' (from Cameroon) and ''C. multifolius'' (native to Panama and Ecuador) 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'' 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 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 in much of the world.

==Diversity== {{Main|List of Cyperus species}} Around 700 species are currently recognised in the genus ''Cyperus''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Cyperaceae/Cyperus/ |title=''Cyperus'' |publisher=The Plant List |access-date=20 March 2015}}</ref>

==Fossil record== Many fossil fruits of a ''Cyperus'' species have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.<ref>Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by Else Marie Friis, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985</ref> Several fossil fruits of †''Cyperus distachyoformis'' have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.<ref>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.</ref>

==Use by humans== Papyrus sedge (''C. papyrus'') of Africa was of major historical importance in providing papyrus. ''C. giganteus'', locally known as ''cañita'', 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 Niʻihau were made from ''C. laevigatus''.

In Madagascar, material from cyperus (''zozoro'') is commonly used for making brooms and mats.<ref name=R/> Fabric woven from ''zozoro'' is often produced and traded by the Sihanaka with other peoples including the once-influential Merina.<ref>{{cite book |page=318 |title=Textile Trades, Consumer Cultures, and the Material Worlds of the Indian Ocean: An Ocean of Cloth |year=2018 |first1=Pedro |last1=Machado |first2=Sarah |last2=Fee |first3=Gwyn |last3=Campbell |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-58265-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |pages=40–1 |first=Gwyn |last=Campbell |title=An Economic History of Imperial Madagascar, 1750-1895: The Rise and Fall of an Island Empire |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-83935-8}}</ref> Pottery with ''zozoro'' motifs are common among Antsahabeans.<ref>{{cite book |page=146|title=Ny Tany Sy Ny Fanjakana, the Land and the State: Archaeological Landscape Survey in the Andrantsay Region of Madagascar |first=Zoë |last=Crossland |year=2001 |publisher=University of Michigan. |isbn=978-0-493-41583-3}}</ref> There is a taboo (''fady'') surrounding one ''zozoro'' type ''C. aequalis'' as a sacred ancestral plant; in which the grass shall not be cut when the paddy grains yellow or else hail and rain will fail his own crop.<ref name=R>{{cite book |page=67 |title=Taboo: A Study of the Malagasy Fady |first=Jørgen |last=Ruud |date=1960 |publisher=Oslo University Press }}</ref>

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'' in 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 ''tövusi-dökadö'' ("nutsedge tuber eaters")<ref>{{Cite book|title=Corbett Mack: The Life of a Northern Paiute|last=Hittman|first=Michael|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=1996|isbn=9780803223769|pages=[https://archive.org/details/corbettmacklifeo0000hitt/page/274 274–275]|url=https://archive.org/details/corbettmacklifeo0000hitt/page/274}}</ref>

Priprioca (''C. articulatus'') is one of the traditional spices of the Amazon region and its reddish essential oil is used commercially both by the cosmetic industry, and increasingly as a flavoring for food.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Atala | first1 = A. | doi = 10.1016/j.ijgfs.2011.11.001 | title = A new ingredient: The introduction of priprioca in gastronomy | journal = International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science | volume = 1 | pages = 61–81 | year = 2012 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natura.net/port/hotsite/ekos_priprioca/index.asp|title=Perfumes baseados em Priprioca|author=Natura|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403052219/http://www.natura.net/port/hotsite/ekos_priprioca/index.asp|archive-date=2009-04-03|author-link=Natura}}</ref> Interest is increasing in the larger, fast-growing species as crops for paper and biofuel production.

Some species are grown as ornamental or pot plants, notably: * ''Cyperus alternifolius'' syn. ''C. involucratus'' (umbrella papyrus)<ref name=AZEGP>{{cite book | editor-last = Brickell | editor-first = Christopher | title = The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants | year = 2008 | page = 302 | publisher = Dorling Kindersley | location = United Kingdom | isbn = 9781405332965}}</ref> *''Cyperus albostriatus'' (dwarf umbrella sedge), formerly called ''C. diffusus'')<ref name=AZEGP/> *''Cyperus haspan''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pondinformer.com/dwarf-papyrus-cyperus-haspan/ |title=How to Plant & Grow Dwarf Papyrus (''Cyperus haspan'') |author= |date=29 January 2021 |website=Pond Informer |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> *''Cyperus longus''<ref name=AZEGP/><ref name=WildePlNL>{{cite web |url=https://wilde-planten.nl/roodcypergras.htm |title=Rood cypergras – ''Cyperus longus'' |last=Dijkstra |first=K.M. |date=2022 |website=Wilde planten in Nederland en België |publisher=K.M. Dijkstra |language=nl |access-date=2 January 2022}}</ref> *''Cyperus papyrus'' (papyrus)<ref name=AZEGP/>

Some ''Cyperus'' species are used in folk medicine. Roots of Near East species were a component of ''kyphi'', a medical incense of Ancient Egypt. Tubers of ''C. rotundus'' (purple nut-sedge) tubers are used in ''kampō''.

An unspecified ''Cyperus'' is mentioned as an abortifacient in the 11th-century poem ''{{lang|la|De viribus herbarum}}''.<ref>{{cite book |author=John M. Riddle |year=1994 |title=Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0674168763}}</ref>

==See also== * Amphoe Nong Prue, a district in Thailand. The name of its capital Nong Prue <big>(หนองปรือ)</big> literally means "''Cyperus'' swamp". * The sedge ''Carex pseudocyperus'' is a related plant convergent in appearance to ''Cyperus''.

==References== {{Reflist|32em}}

==External links== *{{Commons category inline}} *{{Wikispecies inline}} * [http://www.herbarium.lsu.edu/keys/cyperus/cyperus.html CYPERUS interactive identification key by D. M. Ferguson @ LSU Herbarium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829171038/http://www.herbarium.lsu.edu/keys/cyperus/cyperus.html |date=29 August 2015 }} * [http://www.herbarium.lsu.edu/keys/ CYPERACEAE interactive identification keys @ LSU Herbarium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709002648/http://www.herbarium.lsu.edu/keys/carex/carex.html |date=9 July 2010 }} * [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=109010 Flora of China Vol. 23 Page 219, 莎草属 suo cao shu, ''Cyperus'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 44. 1753.] * [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=109010 Flora of Pakistan, V. 206 Page 89, ''Cyperus'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 44. 1753; Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 26. 1754; Boiss., Fl. Or. 5: 363. 1882; C.B.Clarke in Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 6: 597. 1893; R. R. Stewart, l.c. 86. 1972; ''Kukkonen'' in Rech.f., Fl. Iranica 173: 85. 1998.] *[https://flora.org.il/en/books/plant-stories-2/chapter-1/useful_plants_a4/ Cords and a fishnet from Cyperus & Scirpus] * {{cite journal |last1=Angelo |first1=Ray |last2=Boufford |first2=David E. |title=Atlas of the Flora of New England: Cyperaceae |journal=Rhodora |date=2007 |volume=109 |issue=939 |pages=237–360 |jstor=23313701}} * {{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=Gordon C. |title=The Taxonomy of ''Cyperus'' (Cyperaceae) in Costa Rica and Panama |journal=Systematic Botany Monographs |date=1983 |volume=2 |pages=1–85 |doi=10.2307/25027589 |jstor=25027589}} * {{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=Gordon C. |title=Revision of the Mexican Species of ''Cyperus'' (Cyperaceae) |journal=Systematic Botany Monographs |date=1994 |volume=43 |pages=1–213 |doi=10.2307/25027842 |jstor=25027842}}

Category:Cyperus Category:Freshwater plants Category:Cyperaceae genera