Cyperus alopecuroides — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tubers, Oil, Bulb, Vegetable, Root

We have no specific information for this species, but it is said that the inner base of the young stems of all species in this genus can be eaten raw, and make an excellent survival food in times of need.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Africa, Europe, North America, South Africa, Turkey, Türkiye, USA,

Countries: Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Angola, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Burundi, Benin, Bahamas, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Switzerland, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Madagascar, North Macedonia, Mali, Mauritania, Malta, Mauritius, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, St Vincent, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A temperate sedge in the Cyperaceae family, cultivated for its edible tubers, roots, and bulbs.

How to Grow

Requires a moist to wet soil. Tolerant of saline soils.

Propagation: Seed - Division.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are considered to be antibiotic and its pastes are applied externally in the treatment of cutaneous affections.

Other Uses

The stems are used for weaving mats. The mats have various uses, including as a packing material for transporting plates made from leaves. The culms are used for matting and rush-bottomed chairs. The inflorescence stalk and leaves are used to make mats that are used in Hindu marriage and thread ceremonies. The dried leaves and stems are used for thatching houses and sheds. :The plant is used in Egypt in projects for the reclamation of saline land.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Cyperus alopecuroides, commonly known as the foxtail flatsedge, is a sedge of the family Cyperaceae that is native to parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

Names & Synonyms

Gecebiten

Cyperus glomeratus Willd.and several others

References (2)

Ertug, F, Yenen Bitkiler. Resimli Türkiye Florası -I- Flora of Turkey - Ethnobotany supplement (As Cyperus glomeratus)
Zeven, A. C. & de West, J. M. J., 1982, Dictionary of cultivated plants and their regions of diversity. Wageningen. p 108