Yellow Nutsedge
Cyperus esculentus L.
Cyperaceae (Sedge Family)
▲ ▼ colonies of young plants
▲ stem bases showing triangular shape
▲▼ flowering plants
▲uprooted flowering plant
▲▼ inflorescences
▲ ▼ rhizomes and tuber formation
▲ tuber
Yellow nutsedge:
· not a grass, but a sedge; has a triangular stem; grows 6-30 inches tall
· produces seeds, rhizomes and tubers
· has yellow-green leaves and small, golden panicles
· likes, low, wet, high organic matter soils, but adaptable to upland sites
· tubers are more important than seed for spread
· a yellow nutsedge moderate to heavy infestation can produce 1-10 million tubers/A/yr at end of short, thin underground stems
· existing tubers begin growth in May, new tuber production begins in July
· one plant can produce 1900 plantlets from thin, white rhizomes, 7000 tubers per/yr, spreading to about at 6' diameter
· tubers don't take up systemic herbicides as well as rest of plant