
New Chart Could Put the Squeeze on Sedges By Tara Weaver October 27, 1998A new chart for identifying and
distinguishing among 27 sedge species that are weeds of U.S. crops will help
farmers whack these pests. Sedges are grass-like plants in the genus Cyperus. Some
Cyperus sedges are useful, the most famous being C. papyrus, from
which ancient Egyptians made paper. But plenty of sedges are weeds that crowd out crops around the world. They
cause problems in agriculture, forestry and urban and rural areas. Worldwide,
they cost billions of dollars a year in crop competitionand control
measures. Botanically, where theres sedge, theres often confusion. So, to
help U.S. farmers accurately identify the sedge weeds in a given field,
botanist Charles T. Bryson developed a reader-friendly table in cooperation
with scientists in Arkansas and Florida. In Stoneville, Miss., Bryson works at
the Southern
Weed Science Laboratory of the Agricultural Research Service. ARS is the
U.S. Department of Agricultures chief
scientific research agency. The genus Cyperus contains about 600 sedge species. But many are
often misidentified as other weeds in the Cyperaceae family. The family
includes sedges and much more: over 4,000 species in 90 to 115 genera. Currently, no single text of publication in the United States treats all the
species in the new chart14 native and 13 exotic (non-native)
Cyperus sedge weed species in the U.S. Among them is purple nutsedge,
considered the worlds worst weed. The chart also contains information on
yellow nutsedge, rice flatsedge and small flower umbrella sedge, all among the
worlds 34 worst weeds. Nomenclature, common names, distribution, ecology, biology and habitat data
are presented for each species. Reprints including the genera key and tables on
native and non-native Cyperus are available from Bryson. Scientific contact: Charles T. Bryson, ARS
Southern Weed
Science Laboratory, P.O. Box 350, Stoneville, MS 38776, phone (601)
686-5259, fax (601) 686-5422,[email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |