Algae and Plants
87
Cyperus esculentus (Linnaeus)
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Common name: Chufa sedge, nut grass,
yellow nut sedge, tiger nut sedge, earth
almond.
Distribution: Native to most of the
western hemisphere as well as southern
Europe, Africa, Madagascar, the Middle
East, and the Indian subcontinent.
Habitat: Moist soils, wetlands.
Description: It is an annual or perennial plant, growing to 90 cm tall, with
solitary stems growing from a tuber.
The stems are triangular in section
and bear slender leaves 3–10 mm wide.
The spikelets of the plant are distinctive, with a cluster of flat, oval seeds
surrounded by four hanging, leaf-like
bracts positioned 90° from each other.
They are 5–30 mm long and linear to
narrowly elliptic with pointed tips and
8–35 florets. The color varies between
straw colored to gold-brown. The plant
foliage is very tough and fibrous. Tubers
of this species are edible.
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (% DM)
Moisture Ash Protein Fats CHO a Fiber Energy b
9.74
1.79 3.94 27.54 41.59 15.60 429.18
a Carbohydrate.
b kcal/100 g.
Source: Data from Monago and Uwakwe
(2009).
Amino Acids (mg/100 g)
Wet Sample Dry Sample
Lysine
4.16
4.78
Proline
2.02
2.34
Histidine
1.94
2.32
Glycine
4.13
3.19
Arginine
18.29
20.17
Alanine
3.17
3.55
Aspartate
5.73
6.86
Cysteine
2.05
2.32
Threonine
2.77
3.00
Valine
3.14
2.50
Serine
2.27
2.37
Methionine
0.73
0.89
Glutamic acid
7.25
7.98
Leucine
3.71
4.01
Isoleucine
2.07
1.79
Tyrosine
0.81
0.96
Phenylalanine
2.37
2.37
Source: Data from Nwaoguikpe and Nwazue
(2010).