Cyperus halpan (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cyperus halpan L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 45 (1753; "haspan").

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: rembang (Sumatra), para-para (Riau), rumput kudung (Kalimantan)
• Malaysia: rumput sumbu, rumput bilis jantan (Peninsular)
• Philippines: bala-balangutan (Tagalog), barsanga (Iloko), bungot-bungot (Panay Bisaya)
• Thailand: kok naa (Trang), yaa kok chaai (Prachin Buri)
• Vietnam: cú cơm.

Distribution

Tropical and subtropical regions of the world; common throughout Indo-China, Thailand and Malesia.

Uses

In Malaysia, smoke from the pith is used as febrifuge and a decoction of the plant is used internally against shingles. The pith has also been used for lamp wicks. C. halpan is sometimes used as fodder.

Observations

• A perennial herb, often flowering in the first year, with a short rhizome and reddish roots, stem usually slender, 10-40(-100) cm long.
• Leaves 2-5 mm wide, flat, smooth or scaberulous at the top.
• Inflorescence compound or decompound, involucral bracts 2-3, up to 10(-15) cm long, primary rays up to 20, up to 15(-20) cm long.
• Spikelets digitately arranged, 10-30(-40)-flowered; stamens 1-3, stigmas 3.
• Fruit trigonous, broadly obovoid, whitish, later yellowish.

Two subspecies are distinguished: subsp. halpan with slender and short stems, 1 stamen and small nut, and subsp. juncoides (Lamk) Kük. with more robust stems, (2-)3 stamens and slightly larger nut; the former is a common weed, the latter prefers more natural habits. C. halpan occurs up to 1900(-3150) m altitude in open wet locations such as muddy places in swamps; it is a characteristic weed in lowland rice fields.

Selected sources

• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A-H) pp. 1-1240. Vol. 2 (I- Z) pp. 1241-2444.
• Kern, J.H., 1974. Cyperaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (General editor): Flora Malesiana. Series 1, Vol. 7. Noordhoff, Leyden, the Netherlands. pp. 435-753.

Main genus page

• Cyperus (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Nguyen Khac Khoi