|
|
PURPLE NUTSEDGE
- Native to India; introduced around the World.
- Serious pest in the U.S. Southeast, from Virginia to Texas (Fig. 1).
- Established in California and Arizona; potential to invade other Pacific states.
Habitat
- Prevalent in disturbed areas and lawns.
- Grows best in moist, fertile soils.
- Does not grow well in shade, and once established, it is very persistent.
Characteristics
-
Colonial, herbaceous, perennial, with fibrous roots.
- Grows from 7 to 40 cm tall and reproduces extensively by rhizomes and tubers.
- Rhizomes are initially white and fleshy with scaly leaves, and become fibrous, wiry, and very dark brown with age.
- The leaves below the flowering heads are about the same length as the flower stems.
-
The spikelets are dark brown-purple, and the runners are fewer, woody, and thicker (Fig. 2).
- The nutlets are oblong and covered by persistent reddish scales.
Economic Importance
-
Carminative and energy/hormone regulating herb in Traditional Chinese medicine.
- Undesirable as fodder, but in the absence of more desirable plants, it can serve that purpose.
-
Extracts from purple nutsedge have medicinal properties such as reduction of fever, inflammation, and pain.
- Tuber extracts may reduce nausea and act as a muscle relaxant.
|