Family: Cyperaceae
Author: L.
Bibliography: Sp. Pl.: 45 (1753)
Year: 1753
Status: accepted
Rank: species
Genus: Cyperus
Vegetable: False
Observations: Trop. & Subtrop. Old World
Description
Coco-grass, scientifically known as Cyperus rotundus, is a perennial plant belonging to the Cyperaceae family. With its deep-rooted significance across various ecosystems, this plant thrives predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World.
Characterized by its finely textured leaves and robust rhizomes, Coco-grass typically manifests as a troublesome weed in agricultural lands and gardens. Its underground tubers are notoriously difficult to eliminate, making it a persistent challenge for farmers and gardeners alike. The rhizomes allow it to survive adverse conditions and rapidly colonize new areas, demonstrating an exceptional ability to adapt and endure.
Native to the warmer parts of the world, Cyperus rotundus flourishes in climates where temperatures are mild to hot and the soil remains moist but well-drained. Its resilient nature, combined with efficient reproductive strategies, ensures its wide distribution and robust presence across many continents.
Despite being viewed primarily as a weed, Coco-grass holds significance in traditional medicine and various cultural practices within its native range. Historically, its rhizomes have been attributed with medicinal properties and have been employed in treating disorders such as digestive issues, fevers, and inflammation. Furthermore, some cultures have utilized Coco-grass for its aromatic qualities and incorporated it into fragrances and rituals.
First described in 1753, Cyperus rotundus has been the subject of extensive botanical study due to its pervasive nature and impact on both wild and cultivated landscapes. Its classification under the authoritative works of taxonomists highlights its importance within the Cyperaceae family and underscores the need to understand its behavior and control mechanisms better.
In sum, while Coco-grass remains a persistent problem for agricultural management, its ecological role and cultural relevance provide a broader perspective on this ubiquitous plant. Continued research and innovative management practices are essential to mitigate its adverse effects while appreciating and exploring its potential benefits.
Common Names
Eng: java-grass, nutgrass, coco-grass, cocograss, ground-almond, nut sedge, nut-grass, purple nut sedge, purple nut-grass, purple nutsedge, red nut sedge
Deu: knollen-zypergras, knolliges zypergras
Spa: castañuela, cipero, coquito, juncia real
Swe: nötag
Ara: sa’ed
Fra: souchet rond
En: Coco-grass, Ground-almond, Purple nut sedge, Purple nut-grass, Red nut sedge, Nut sedge, Nut-grass, Java-grass, Nutgrass, Purple Flat Sedge, Purple nutsedge, Mutta, Padang teki, Cocograss, Common Nut Sedge, Nutsedge, Purple Nutsegde, Nut grass, Purple Nut-sedge, Galingale, Purple Flatsedge, Chaguan humatag
Af: Rooiuintjie
Ar: Sa’ed, زبل المعز (زِبْل المَعِز), زبل المعيز (زِبْل المعيز), سعد (سِعْد، سَعْد)، ديس (دِيس), سعد (سِعْد، سَعْد)، صدر الحمار (صَدْرالحمار), سعد الحمار (سَعْد الحُمار), سقيط ( سُقيط), سمار (سَمار، سُمار), مجصه (مَجِصّه), سعد مستدير, Hasir, Sa’ed al hammar
Hy: Դուն կլոր
Az: Girdə topalaq
Bm: Ntolanin
Bn: মুথা
Bg: Закръглен циперус
Ca: Serrana rodona, Llunça
Zh: Suo cao, Xiang fu zi, 香附子
Cs: Šáchor hlíznatý
Fi: Ruskosädekaisla
Fr: Souchet rond, Chien-coq, Ti-coco, Herbe à oignon, Souchet d’Asie, Souchet officinal
Ff: Woƴre
De: Knolliges Zypergras, Knollen-Zypergras, Knolliges Cypergras, Rundes Zypergras
El: Κύπειρος ο στρογγυλός
Ht: Afyo
He: גומא הפקעים
Hi: मोथा
Id: Teki ladang
It: Dente di Cavallo, Erba Pepa, Zigolo infestante
Jv: Teki
Kk: Саламалейкум
Ko: Hyangbuja
Ms: Rumput halia hitam
Ml: മുത്തങ്ങ
Mr: नागरमोथा
Ne: मोथे
Pa: ਮੋਥਾ
Fa: اویارسلام
Pt-br: Alho-bravo, Tiririca, Tiririca-vermelha, Capim-alho, Capim-dandá
Ru: Сыть круглая
Si: කලාඳුරු (පැලෑටිය)
Es: Cipero, Coquito, Juncia real, Castañuela, Cebolleta, Coquillo, Ajuncia, Cebollín, Juncia
Su: Teki
Sv: Nötag
Zh-tw: 香附子
Ta: கோரை
Te: తుంగ గడ్డి
Th: แห้วหมู
To: Pakopako
Zh-hant: 香附子
Uz: Salomalaykum
Vi: Củ gấu
Synonyms
- Cyperus comosus (Sm.)
- Cyperus bulbosostolonifer (Miq.)
- Cyperus viridis (Roxb. ex C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus patulus (M.Bieb.)
- Cyperus pallescens (Poir.)
- Cyperus agrestis (Willd. ex Spreng. & Link)
- Cyperus longus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus laevissimus (Steud.)
- Cyperus rotundus subsp. inconspicuus ((Nyman) K.Richt.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. taylorii ((C.B.Clarke) Kük.)
- Cyperus stoloniferus var. pallidus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus hildra (Poir.)
- Cyperus rudioi var. minor (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus rotundus f. depallescens (Ekman & Kük.)
- Cyperus rotundus f. inconspicuus ((Nyman) Kük.)
- Cyperus rotundus subsp. brevibracteatus ((Le Grand) M.Laínz)
- Cyperus purpureovariegatus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus rubicundus (Willd. ex Link)
- Cyperus rotundus var. quimoyensis (L.K.Dai)
- Cyperus rotundus f. latimarginatus (Kük.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. platystachys (Bojer ex C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus rotundus f. comosus ((Sm.) Kük.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. carinatus (F.M.Bailey)
- Cyperus rotundus var. procerula (C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus rotundus var. inconspicuus (Nyman)
- Cyperus pseudovariegatus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus rotundus var. elongatus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus herbicavus (Melliss)
- Cyperus rotundus var. brevibracteatus ((Le Grand) Husn.)
- Cyperus radicosus (Sm.)
- Cyperus taylorii (C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus rotundus var. macrostachyus (Boiss.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. comosus ((Sm.) Nyman)
- Cyperus micreilema (Steud.)
- Cyperus ochreoides (Steud.)
- Cyperus oliganthus (Gand.)
- Pycreus rotundus ((L.) Hayek)
- Cyperus rotundus subsp. divaricatus (Lye)
- Cyperus yoshinagae (Ohwi)
- Cyperus hexastachyos (Rottb.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. centiflorus (C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus rotundus var. amaliae (C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus olivaris (O.Targ.Tozz.)
- Cyperus merkeri (C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus procerulus (Nees)
- Cyperus proteinolepis (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus rotundus var. spadiceus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus rotundus var. hydra ((Michx.) A.Gray)
- Cyperus rotundus subsp. comosus ((Sm.) K.Richt.)
- Cyperus platystachys (Cherm.)
- Schoenus tuberosus (Burm.f.)
- Chlorocyperus rotundus ((L.) Palla)
- Cyperus rotundus f. latifolius (Kük.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. acutus (Boeckeler)
- Cyperus rotundus var. carinalis (Benth.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. major (Parl.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. salsolus (C.B.Clarke)
- Cyperus badius var. inconspicuus ((Nyman) Nyman)
- Cyperus rotundus var. pseudesculentus (Kük.)
- Cyperus rotundus var. tetrastachyos ((Desf.) Trab.)
- Cyperus leptostachyus (Griff.)
- Cyperus olivaris var. brevibracteatus (Le Grand)
- Cyperus rotundus subsp. merkeri ((C.B.Clarke) Kük.)
- Cyperus tetrastachyos (Desf.)
- Cyperus rotundus f. contractus (Kük.)
- Cyperus tenuifolius (Walp.)
- Cyperus hydra (Michx.)
- Cyperus officinalis (Nees ex Godr.)
Distribution
- Afghanistan (native)
- Albania (native)
- Aldabra (native)
- Algeria (native)
- Andaman Is. (native)
- Angola (native)
- Assam (native)
- Austria (native)
- Azores (native)
- Baleares (native)
- Bangladesh (native)
- Benin (native)
- Borneo (native)
- Botswana (native)
- Bulgaria (native)
- Burkina (native)
- Burundi (native)
- Cambodia (native)
- Cameroon (native)
- Canary Is. (native)
- Cape Provinces (native)
- Cape Verde (native)
- Caprivi Strip (native)
- Caroline Is. (native)
- Central African Repu (native)
- Chad (native)
- Chagos Archipelago (native)
- China North-Central (native)
- China South-Central (native)
- China Southeast (native)
- Comoros (native)
- Congo (native)
- Corse (native)
- Cyprus (native)
- Djibouti (native)
- East Aegean Is. (native)
- East Himalaya (native)
- Egypt (native)
- Equatorial Guinea (native)
- Eritrea (native)
- Ethiopia (native)
- France (native)
- Free State (native)
- Gabon (native)
- Gambia (native)
- Ghana (native)
- Greece (native)
- Guinea (native)
- Gulf of Guinea Is. (native)
- Gulf States (native)
- Hainan (native)
- Hawaii (native)
- India (native)
- Iran (native)
- Iraq (native)
- Italy (native)
- Ivory Coast (native)
- Japan (native)
- Jawa (native)
- Kazakhstan (native)
- Kazan-retto (native)
- Kenya (native)
- Kirgizstan (native)
- Korea (native)
- Kriti (native)
- KwaZulu-Natal (native)
- Lebanon-Syria (native)
- Lesotho (native)
- Lesser Sunda Is. (native)
- Libya (native)
- Madagascar (native)
- Madeira (native)
- Malawi (native)
- Malaya (native)
- Mali (native)
- Maluku (native)
- Manchuria (native)
- Marianas (native)
- Marshall Is. (native)
- Mauritania (native)
- Mauritius (native)
- Morocco (native)
- Mozambique (native)
- Mozambique Channel I (native)
- Myanmar (native)
- Namibia (native)
- Nansei-shoto (native)
- Nepal (native)
- New South Wales (native)
- Nicobar Is. (native)
- Niger (native)
- Nigeria (native)
- North Caucasus (native)
- Northern Provinces (native)
- Northern Territory (native)
- Ogasawara-shoto (native)
- Oman (native)
- Pakistan (native)
- Palestine (native)
- Philippines (native)
- Portugal (native)
- Queensland (native)
- Rodrigues (native)
- Romania (native)
- Rwanda (native)
- Réunion (native)
- Sardegna (native)
- Saudi Arabia (native)
- Selvagens (native)
- Senegal (native)
- Seychelles (native)
- Sicilia (native)
- Sierra Leone (native)
- Sinai (native)
- Socotra (native)
- Somalia (native)
- South Australia (native)
- South China Sea (native)
- Spain (native)
- Sri Lanka (native)
- St.Helena (native)
- Sudan (native)
- Sulawesi (native)
- Sumatera (native)
- Swaziland (native)
- Switzerland (native)
- Tadzhikistan (native)
- Taiwan (native)
- Tanzania (native)
- Thailand (native)
- Tibet (native)
- Togo (native)
- Transcaucasus (native)
- Tunisia (native)
- Turkey (native)
- Turkey-in-Europe (native)
- Turkmenistan (native)
- Turks-Caicos Is. (native)
- Uganda (native)
- Uzbekistan (native)
- Vietnam (native)
- Wake I. (native)
- West Himalaya (native)
- Western Australia (native)
- Western Sahara (native)
- Yemen (native)
- Yugoslavia (native)
- Zambia (native)
- Zaïre (native)
- Zimbabwe (native)
- Alabama (introduced)
- Argentina Northeast (introduced)
- Argentina Northwest (introduced)
- Argentina South (introduced)
- Arizona (introduced)
- Arkansas (introduced)
- Aruba (introduced)
- Bahamas (introduced)
- Belize (introduced)
- Bolivia (introduced)
- Brazil North (introduced)
- Brazil Northeast (introduced)
- Brazil South (introduced)
- Brazil Southeast (introduced)
- California (introduced)
- Cayman Is. (introduced)
- Central American Pac (introduced)
- Chile Central (introduced)
- Christmas I. (introduced)
- Colombia (introduced)
- Cook Is. (introduced)
- Costa Rica (introduced)
- Cuba (introduced)
- Czechoslovakia (introduced)
- Dominican Republic (introduced)
- Ecuador (introduced)
- El Salvador (introduced)
- Fiji (introduced)
- Florida (introduced)
- French Guiana (introduced)
- Galápagos (introduced)
- Georgia (introduced)
- Great Britain (introduced)
- Guatemala (introduced)
- Guyana (introduced)
- Haiti (introduced)
- Honduras (introduced)
- Jamaica (introduced)
- Kentucky (introduced)
- Kermadec Is. (introduced)
- Leeward Is. (introduced)
- Line Is. (introduced)
- Louisiana (introduced)
- Maldives (introduced)
- Marquesas (introduced)
- Maryland (introduced)
- Mexican Pacific Is. (introduced)
- Mexico Central (introduced)
- Mexico Gulf (introduced)
- Mexico Northeast (introduced)
- Mexico Northwest (introduced)
- Mexico Southeast (introduced)
- Mexico Southwest (introduced)
- Mississippi (introduced)
- Missouri (introduced)
- Nauru (introduced)
- Netherlands Antilles (introduced)
- New Caledonia (introduced)
- New Mexico (introduced)
- New York (introduced)
- Nicaragua (introduced)
- Niue (introduced)
- Norfolk Is. (introduced)
- North Carolina (introduced)
- Panamá (introduced)
- Peru (introduced)
- Phoenix Is. (introduced)
- Puerto Rico (introduced)
- Samoa (introduced)
- Society Is. (introduced)
- South Carolina (introduced)
- Southwest Caribbean (introduced)
- Suriname (introduced)
- Tennessee (introduced)
- Texas (introduced)
- Tokelau-Manihiki (introduced)
- Tonga (introduced)
- Trinidad-Tobago (introduced)
- Tuamotu (introduced)
- Tubuai Is. (introduced)
- Venezuela (introduced)
- Venezuelan Antilles (introduced)
- Virginia (introduced)
- Wallis-Futuna Is. (introduced)
- Windward Is. (introduced)
Additional Images
Leaf
Taken Apr 20, 2022 by lea celda (cc-by-sa)
Taken Apr 20, 2022 by lea celda (cc-by-sa)
Taken Sep 1, 2022 by Sahasranshu Pattanayak-232 Pattanayak-232 (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jun 5, 2021 by harley harley (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 18, 2021 by Beytullah AYDIN (cc-by-sa)
Flower
Taken Nov 22, 2022 by Giovanni Rivieccio (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 13, 2021 by Arjun Singh (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 9, 2021 by luca aquino (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 27, 2018 by Mehmet Basbag (cc-by-sa)
Taken Oct 13, 2018 by Mehmet Basbag (cc-by-sa)
Habit
Taken Aug 3, 2020 by Ziv Paz (cc-by-sa)
Taken Oct 15, 2019 by Photoflora – Jean-Luc TASSET (©)
Taken Sep 30, 2020 by Fernandez Cusachs Marc (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 2, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 22, 2022 by Giovanni Rivieccio (cc-by-sa)
Fruit
Taken Mar 4, 2011 by Endemia – Benoît Henry (cc-by-nc)
Taken May 19, 2020 by Muñoz-Ramos Gregori (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 2, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 2, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)
Taken Dec 9, 2017 by Mehmet Basbag (cc-by-sa)
Other
Taken Dec 11, 2014 by OTS – Oviedo-Brenes, Federico (cc-by-nc-sa)
Taken Jun 9, 2011 by OTS – Oviedo-Brenes, Federico (cc-by-nc-sa)
Taken Jan 1, 1970 by Photoflora – L’Abbé COSTE (©)
Taken Dec 11, 2014 by OTS – Oviedo-Brenes, Federico (cc-by-nc-sa)
Taken Aug 17, 2019 by Pedro Dias (cc-by-sa)
Bark
Taken Mar 22, 2022 by Robert Stevens (cc-by-sa)
Taken Sep 26, 2005 by EOL − Luigi Rignanese (cc-by-nc)
Taken Aug 10, 2022 by González Castelli Elena (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jun 25, 2014 by Tela Botanica − Patrick LEBOULENGER (cc-by-sa)
Taken Mar 19, 2022 by Gonçalves da Cunha Lucas (cc-by-sa)
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Sources
- WFO (No URL)
- IPNI (No URL)
- POWO (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:305797-1)
- GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/2714818)
- PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Cyperus rotundus L.)
Specifications
Growth habit: Graminoid
Growth
Ph maximum: 7.0
Ph minimum: 6.5
Light: 8
Atmospheric humidity: 6
Soil nutriments: 6
Soil salinity: 1
