Cyperus textilis

Image: By Andrew massyn (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Description

This reed-like plant is found in river and wetland-type areas of fresh or salty water. It has a stem of a few meters topped with an umbrella-shaped tuft of flat leaf structures, sometimes with the seeds emerging from the centre of the umbrella. It occurs from Piketberg in the Western Cape to southern KwaZulu-Natal. In wetlands, plants take up the excess nitrogen, phosphates, heavy metals and phenolic compounds.

Propagation is most successful by dividing up the clumps of roots and cutting back most of the large stems, but it can also be propagated by seeds and cuttings. For cuttings, cut of the top tuft with a few centimetres of stem to spare. Cut off most of the umbrella tuft to avoid water loss. Place in water or moist sand until roots appear before planting out.

Also known as mat sedge | basket grass | rushes | emezi grass | kooigoed

Sources and references

• PlantZA

Scientific name

Cyperus textilis

Common name(s)

Umbrella sedge

Features

• It can be used as a construction material
• Suitable for clay soil
• Suitable for sandy soil

Vegetation types

• Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
• Elgin Shale Fynbos

Genus

Cyperus