Cyperus strigosus L.

Straw-colored flatsedge, false nutsedge

Straw-colored flatsedge is native to the United States, Cuba, and Canada. It pops up in my lawn, growing about three times faster than the sur­rounding grass.

Plants: 4½–28″ (12–70 cm) in height, with a stem (culm) that is triangular in cross-section. The culm is topped by inflorescences, branching clusters of linear spikes, like straw-colored bottle brushes. The clusters are 2–5″ (5–12 cm) across. 3-8 leafy bracts 2–10″ (5–25 cm) long extend from the base of the inflorescence, resem­bling grass blades like the other leaves. The base of the plant is hard, edible bulb, with a purplish sheath.

Leaves: Grasslike, with flat or with rolled edges, 4–18 ⨉ 1/32–¼″ (10–45 cm ⨉ 1–8 mm).

Flowers: Each floral spike is ¾–2″ (1.9–5 cm) long, and contains 30-80 flattened spikes, each 1/32–1/16″ (1.5–2.4 mm) long.

Fruits: The floral spikes atop the plant are the fruits and flowers. Each fruit (a “tine” of the brush) is a seed 1/32–1/16″ (1.5–2.4 mm) long, surrounded by scales. Fruits are tri­angular in cross-section.

Habitats: Cultivated or disturbed soils such as fields and roadsides, pond shores and ditches. It prefers soils that are at least seasonally wet.

Edibility: Tubers are edible, raw or cooked, said variously to taste like Vick’s VapoRub or “pleasantly nutty,” becoming milder-tasting with drying.

Medical: Folk medicine remedies based on this species are numerous, but they have not been confirmed with formal studies.

Online References:

References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Cyperus strigosus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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