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Yellow Nutsedge Cyperus esculentus L.—Snack Food of the Gods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael S. Defelice
Michael S. Defelice*
Affiliation:
ThunderSnow Interactive, 5720 Wentworth Drive, Johnston, IA 50131. E-mail: defelicems@thundersnow.com
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Extract

No more the grassy brook reflects the day,

But, chocked with sedges, works its weedy way;

The Deserted Village, Oliver Goldsmith, 1770.

Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) is a perennial herbaceous sedge native to the eastern Mediterranean (Mabberley 1997; Tutin et al. 1980; Zeven and Zhukovsky 1975). Cultivated in ancient Egypt for its tasty and oil-rich tubers, the wild type has spread as a weed to all the continents of the world and adapted to climates from tropical to subarctic. Adaptability to many agricultural habitats and the great reproductive capacity of yellow nutsedge have propelled it to rank as the 16th worst weed in the world (Holm et al. 1991a, 1991b; Negbi 1992).

Type
Intriguing World of Weeds
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 16 , Issue 4 , December 2002 , pp. 901 - 907
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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