Editing Cyperus (section)

==Use by humans==
Papyrus sedge (''[[Cyperus papyrus|C.&nbsp;papyrus]]'') of [[Africa]] was of major historical importance in providing [[papyrus]]. ''[[Cyperus giganteus|C.&nbsp;giganteus]]'', locally known as ''cañita'', is used by the [[Yokot'an]] [[Maya peoples|Maya]] of [[Tabasco]], [[Mexico]], for weaving ''petates'' (sleeping mats) and [[sombrero]]s. ''[[Cyperus textilis|C.&nbsp;textilis]]'' and ''[[Cyperus pangorei|C.&nbsp;pangorei]]'' are traditionally used to produce the typical mats of [[Palakkad]] in [[India]], and the ''[[makaloa]]'' mats of [[Niihau]] were made from ''[[Cyperus laevigatus|C.&nbsp;laevigatus]]''.

In [[Madagascar]], cyperii grasses (''zozoro'') are a common material for making brooms and mats.<ref name=R/> Fabric woven from ''zozoro'' is often produced and traded by the [[Sihanaka]] with other peoples including the once-influential [[Merina people|Merina]].<ref>{{cite book |page=318 |title=Textile Trades, Consumer Cultures, and the Material Worlds of the Indian Ocean: An Ocean of Cloth |year=2018  |first1=Pedro  |last1=Machado |first2=Sarah |last2=Fee |first3=Gwyn |last3=Campbell |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-58265-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |pages=40–1 |first=Gwyn |last=Campbell |title=An Economic History of Imperial Madagascar, 1750-1895: The Rise and Fall of an Island Empire |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-83935-8}}</ref> Pottery with ''zozoro'' motifs are common among [[Antsahabe]]ans.<ref>{{cite book |page=146|title=Ny Tany Sy Ny Fanjakana, the Land and the State: Archaeological Landscape Survey in the Andrantsay Region of Madagascar  |first=Zoë |last=Crossland  |year=2001 |publisher=University of Michigan. |isbn=978-0-493-41583-3}}</ref> There is a taboo ([[Fady (taboo)|''fady'']]) surrounding one ''zozoro'' type ''C. aequalis'' as a sacred ancestral plant; in which the grass shall not be cut when the paddy grains yellow or else hail and rain will fail his own crop.<ref name=R>{{cite book |page=67 |title=Taboo: A Study of the Malagasy Fady |first=Jørgen |last=Ruud |date=1960 |publisher=Oslo University Press }}</ref>

The [[Cyperus esculentus|chufa flatsedge]] (''C.&nbsp;esculentus'') has edible [[tuber]]s and is grown commercially for these; they are eaten as vegetables, made into sweets, or used to produce the ''[[horchata]]'' in the [[Valencian Community|Valencia]] region. Several other species – e.g. [[Australian bush onion]] (''C.&nbsp;bulbosus'') – are eaten to a smaller extent. For some Northern [[Northern Paiute|Paiutes]], ''Cyperus'' tubers were a mainstay food, to the extent that they were known as ''tövusi-dökadö'' ("nutsedge tuber eaters")<ref>{{Cite book|title=Corbett Mack: The Life of a Northern Paiute|last=Hittman|first=Michael|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=1996|isbn=9780803223769|pages=[https://archive.org/details/corbettmacklifeo0000hitt/page/274 274–275]|url=https://archive.org/details/corbettmacklifeo0000hitt/page/274}}</ref><!-- unclear; N Paiute group names were typically "[food type]-eater". Paiute word for "eater" is given as "ticutta", which is clearly related to "dökadö" but perhaps not identical; "dökadö"  might be from other Numic language (Mono?) -->

Priprioca (''[[Cyperus articulatus|C.&nbsp;articulatus]]'') is one of the traditional [[spice]]s of the [[Amazon basin|Amazon]] region and its reddish [[essential oil]] is used commercially both by the cosmetic industry, and increasingly as a [[flavoring]] for food.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Atala | first1 = A. | doi = 10.1016/j.ijgfs.2011.11.001 | title = A new ingredient: The introduction of priprioca in gastronomy | journal = International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science | volume = 1 | pages = 61–81 | year = 2012 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natura.net/port/hotsite/ekos_priprioca/index.asp|title=Perfumes baseados em Priprioca|author=Natura|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403052219/http://www.natura.net/port/hotsite/ekos_priprioca/index.asp|archive-date=2009-04-03|author-link=Natura}}</ref> Interest is increasing in the larger, fast-growing species as crops for [[paper]] and [[biofuel]] production.

Some species are grown as [[ornamental plant|ornamental]] or [[pot plant]]s, notably:
* ''[[Cyperus alternifolius]]'' syn. ''C. involucratus'' (umbrella papyrus)<ref name=AZEGP>{{cite book | editor-last = Brickell | editor-first = Christopher | title = The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants | year = 2008 | page = 302 | publisher = Dorling Kindersley | location = United Kingdom | isbn = 9781405332965}}</ref>
*''[[Cyperus albostriatus]]'' (dwarf umbrella sedge), formerly called ''C.&nbsp;diffusus'')<ref name=AZEGP/>
*''[[Cyperus haspan]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pondinformer.com/dwarf-papyrus-cyperus-haspan/ |title=How to Plant & Grow Dwarf Papyrus (''Cyperus haspan'') |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=29 January 2021 |website=Pond Informer |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref>
*''[[Cyperus longus]]''<ref name=AZEGP/><ref name=WildePlNL>{{cite web |url=https://wilde-planten.nl/roodcypergras.htm |title=Rood cypergras – ''Cyperus longus'' |last=Dijkstra |first=K.M. |date=2022 |website=Wilde planten in Nederland en België |publisher=K.M. Dijkstra |language=nl |access-date=2 January 2022}}</ref>
*''[[Cyperus papyrus]]'' (papyrus)<ref name=AZEGP/>

Some ''Cyperus'' species are used in [[folk medicine]]. Roots of [[Near East]] species were a component of ''[[kyphi]]'', a medical [[incense]] of [[Ancient Egypt]]. Tubers of ''[[Cyperus rotundus|C.&nbsp;rotundus]]'' (purple nut-sedge) tubers are used in ''[[kampō]]''.

An unspecified ''Cyperus'' is mentioned as an [[abortifacient]] in the 11th-century poem ''{{lang|la|[[De viribus herbarum]]}}''.<ref>{{cite book |author=John M. Riddle |year=1994 |title=Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |isbn=978-0674168763}}</ref>