Cyperus imbricatus (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cyperus imbricatus Retz.

Family: Cyperaceae

Synonyms

Cyperus involucratus Poir., C. radiatus Vahl, C. verticillatus Roxb.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: adem-adem (Jakarta), lumbungan (Javanese), tintilo (Sulawesi)
• Philippines: alinang (Panay Bisaya), balabalangutan (Tagalog), balayang (Ilokano)
• Thailand: kok (Ayutthaya).

Distribution

Pantropical. Widely found in South-East Asia.

Uses

The stemsare used for string in Java. Locally in the Philippines the outer portions of the leaves are stripped, dried in the shade and woven into mats and screens. In Peru the crushed rhizome is used as an aphrodisiac.

Observations

A perennial herb with a very short rhizome and slender to robust, tufted, trigonous, smooth stems 50-150 cm × 8 mm. Leaves canaliculate, 5-15 mm wide. Inflorescence umbel-like, 20 cm long and wide; involucral bracts 3-5, up to 65 cm long; primary rays 6-8(-16), unequal, up to 15 cm long, secondary rays very short; spikes digitately arranged, very dense with usually 60-70 spikelets, 2-3 cm long; spikelets spicately arranged, 6-30-flowered, 4-6(-12) mm long. Fruit a trigonous nut, 0.6-0.8 mm × 0.4 mm, yellow-brown. C. imbricatus is found on river banks, in swamps, wet-rice fields and other open wet locations, mostly at low altitudes but rarely up to 900 m altitude. It is very polymorphic and many subdivisions into subspecies, varieties and forms have been described. In Java C. imbricatus flowers year-round. Natural propagation is by fruits which are dispersed by water and birds. In Indonesia it is considered a weed of minor importance in rice, where it can be controlled by chemical means.

Selected sources

6, 19, 20, 47, 71, 158, 160, 162.

Authors

M. Brink, P.C.M. Jansen & C.H. Bosch