Cyperus usitatus Burch. ex Roem. & Schult.

Perennial herb, 0.05-0.45 m high, long-rhizomatous. Leaf blades 1.6-3.4 mm wide, flat or V-shaped. Culm scapose, 0.5-1.6 mm in diam. Inflorescence a single, terminal spike of several densely crowded spikelets, or a partly contracted simple or compound anthela of up to 7 stalked clusters. Subtending bracts 2-5, leaf-like. Spikelets laterally compressed, narrowly ovate, 6.7-15.3 x 1.5-3.3 mm, 6-13-flowered. Glumes tightly imbricate, ovate, 3.3-5.0 mm long, apex acute. Flowering time Dec.-May. Nutlet narrowly obovate, 1.7-2.2 x 0.7-1.0 mm, 3-angled, dark brown, surface minutely reticulate.

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in hot arid areas with a marked dry season. It can be in shallow, sandy and seasonally waterlogged soils. It grows between 900-2,225 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

The bulb is eaten raw. It is also cooked and eaten. It is used in soups and vegetable dishes. The bulbs are bitter unless cooked.