Scleria scrobiculata

Nees & Meyen ex Nees

Nut rush

CyperaceaeFruit
Scleria scrobiculata
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) CliffChen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by CliffChen
Scleria scrobiculata
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) JODY HSIEH, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Scleria scrobiculata
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) JODY HSIEH, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tips, Fruit

The young tops and fruit are eaten.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. In south China it grows in broad-leaved evergreen forests between 100-300 m above sea level.

Asia, Australia, China, East Timor, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Samoa, SE Asia, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Micronesia, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen

How to Identify

A sedge. These grow in clumps and have grass like leaves and solid stalks. The stalks are 1-2.5 m tall and 4-10 mm thick. They are 3 sided. The leaves are in rings of 2-5 in the middle of the stalk. The sheaths are 4-6 cm long. The leaf blade is 40 cm long by 1 cm wide. The flowering shoots are branched panicles with 2-3 spikelets in a cluster. The nutlets are white and round and 2-3 mm long. They are slightly 3 sided.

Names & Synonyms

Tafatolu

Scleria approximata Hassk.and others
References (4)
  • Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 561
  • Cowie, I, 2006, A Survey of Flora and vegetation of the proposed Jaco-Tutuala-Lore National Park. Timor-Lests (East Timor) www.territorystories.nt/gov.au p 46
  • Parham, B. E. V., 1972, Plants of Samoa. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Information Series. No. 85 p 115
  • World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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