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Nut Sedge
(Cyperus esculentas)
pronounced sy-PEER-us
Chufa
This is a native plant, widespread in the eastern United States.
The name comes from little edible tubers that grow on the ends of some roots. It is hard to eradicate as some bit of root is always left in the soil. It is pushy and takes over in our Schoolyard Garden if we don't keep after it. New plants pop up at the ends of the roots.
To the right are the flower spikes of the sedge; not open yet.
Below they are further along..
If you look at the stem of this plant it is triangular. If I remember correctly that was one of the identification clues I picked up somewhere.
Look it up online and you will find more about it as it is a pest.
Study Pointers:
- Another, more famous, sedge is papyrus. It was an important plant in ancient times as it could be made into a flat sheet to write on. This was before the invention of paper thousands of years later by the Chinese people. Check out other things people used to write on before paper! Have you ever heard of the Rosetta Stone?
I'm not sure what you might use as a search term...but I bet you would get some information on what came before paper if you enter "history of papermaking"...and using that info you could refine your internet search. Of course, check out papyrus!
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