Cyperus laevigatus — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Ash - salt

The plant is burnt for salt. No further details are given, but the general process is to burn the dried plant then percolate water through the ashes to dissolve out the salts. The water is then evaporated to leave behind the salts.

Where to Find It

It is widespread in the tropics and subtropics. It is often near salty areas and hot springs. It can grow in salty and alkaline soils. In Argentina it grows between sea level and 1,000 m above sea level.

Africa, Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, East Africa, Fiji, Hawaii, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Micronesia, Mozambique, Pacific, Pakistan, Rotuma, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, South America, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uganda, USA, Zimbabwe,

Countries: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Botswana, Belize, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Comoros, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Nauru, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vanuatu, Samoa, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A sedge. It grows 60 cm high. It keeps growing from year to year and can form clumps connected by an underground stem. The flowering shoot has a small array of cylinder shaped spikelets.

How to Grow

Requires a sunny position.

Medicinal Uses

The rhizomes are diuretic. A paste made from the rhizome is taken as a remedy for kidney problems.

Other Uses

The culms are used for matting and to make various items including hats, cloaks, loincloths and string.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Cyperus laevigatus is a species of sedge known by the common name smooth flatsedge.

Names & Synonyms

Sirabozaka, Te maunei

References (4)

Flora of Pakistan. www.eFloras.org
McClatchey, W., Thaman, R., & Vodonaivalu, S., 2000, A Preliminary Checklist of the Flora of Rotuma with Rotuman Names. Pacific Science (2000) Vol. 54, No. 4: 345-363
Simpson, D. A. & Inglis, C. A., 2001, Cyperaceae of Economic, Ethnobotanical and Horticultural Importance: A checklist. Kew Bulletin Vol. 56, No. 2 (2001), pp. 257-360
Thaman, R. R., 1987, Plants of Kiribati: A listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 296