This plant looks like it's seen some stuff.
Common Name: Asian Flatsedge
Other Common Names: Lesser Rice-field Flat Sedge
Botanical Family: Cyperaceae (The Cyperus Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Cyperus microiria
Description & Habitat: The photographed specimen was seen next to a building in Eastover NC. Although most references for the species indicate that it has not been spotted in North Carolina yet they do indicate it has naturalized in Tennessee and Kentucky. I do have ot note that the location is a spot frequented by interstate vehicle traffic so this plant may have gotten there on a vehicle or someone’s shoes or clothing. The location is a spot prone to light flooding whenever it rains and the soil is pretty poor in quality. It is a full sun site with moderate foot traffic as a concrete walkway is just inches away. I suspect the specimen has survived some herbicide damage as well as regular environmental stresses. Asian Flatsedge as its name suggests is a non-native plant that has an endemic range of the Himalayas to Japan. Under normal conditions it would be an undesirable plant that would appear in the same wetland environments that certain species of rice prefer to grow in. It is considered an annual by most sources and its main reproduction method is via a large number of produced seeds.
When & What to Harvest: In general there is nothing to eat on this plant, but due to its prolific production of seeds one might be able to harvest enough foliage with a focus on the stems in particular to make paper.
Non-Dangerous Lookalikes: The most famous relative of this plant is Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), which is used for making paper. Beyond this there are at least ten species of Cyperus that are considered weeds of southeastern lawns but also a number of sedge species used as lawn substitutes like Texas Sedge (Carex texensis). There are a lot of sedges in the landscaping trade that are readily available.
Related Dangerous Species: None are known.
Recipe: As far as I can tell this plant is not edible.
Additional Information: (If applicable)
https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=4607&label=0
https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/cyperus/microiria/
https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant.aspx?id=585
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.
Fresh Foods:
Soup Kit – Parsnip
Soup Kit – Turnip
Garlic Bulbs
Soil Amendment Products:
Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*
Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag
Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture Sample size
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture
Garden Plants, Fall Foods:
Arugula, Astro
Cabbage, Pac Choi ‘Rosie’
Collards, Green Glaze
Kale, Prizm
Kale, Redbor
Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing
Coming Soon:
Houseplants for the holidays
*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.
How to stay in Contact with Us!
Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.
Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville
Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:
The Videos: Look Here
>Newest videos (1): Golden Sage
Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is November 9th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.
