Piedmont Flatsedge

Description

Cyperus rotundus (coco-grass, Java grass, nut grass, purple nut sedge or purple nutsedge, red nut sedge, Khmer kravanh chruk) is a species of sedge (Cyperaceae) native to Africa, southern and central Europe (north to France and Austria), and southern Asia. The word cyperus derives from the Greek, kyperos, and rotundus is from Latin, meaning "round". The earliest attested form of the word cyperus is the Mycenaean Greek, ku-pa-ro, written in Linear B syllabic script. Cyperus rotundus is a perennial plant, that may reach a height of up to 140 cm (55 in). The names "nut grass" and "nut sedge" – shared with the related species Cyperus esculentus – are derived from its tubers, that somewhat resemble nuts, although botanically they have nothing to do with nuts. As in other Cyperaceae, the leaves sprout in ranks of three from the base of the plant, around 5–20 cm (2–8 in) long. The flower stems have a triangular cross-section. The flower is bisexual and has three stamina and a three-stigma pistil, with the inflorescence having three to eight unequal spikes. The fruit is a three-angled achene. Young plants initially form white, fleshy rhizomes, up to 25 mm (1.0 in) in dimension, in chains. Some rhizomes grow upward in the soil, then form a bulb-like structure from which new shoots and roots grow, and from the new roots, new rhizomes grow. Other rhizomes grow horizontally or downward, and form dark reddish-brown tubers or chains of tubers.