Grey sedge
Lepironia articulata

Family: Cyperaceae

What it is like

A sedge plant which grows in water. It has underground stems or rhizomes. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 3 m tall. The stems are almost round, hollow and divided into sections. The leaves are reduced to scales. The flowering shoot is a dense oval spike. It is 3 cm long by 1 cm wide. The glumes or bracts overlap. The spikelets occur singly. The nut is compressed and smooth.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in swamps and on the edges of ponds. In Fiji it occurs near swamps at 600-900 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, China, East Africa, Fiji, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand

How it is used for food

The woody underground stems or rhizomes are baked and eaten.

It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Rhizomes, tubers, root

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed sown onto waterlogged soil. It can be grown by dividing a clump.

Its other names

Local names

Purun, Purun danau

Synonyms

Lepironia mucronata L.C.Rich.; Restio articulatus Retz.;