Today I learned another weedy species that calls Piney Woods Church Road home: the Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus). Native to North America and Eurasia, it is now found on all continents. This sun-loving perennial is widely despised by farmers as among the five worst agricultural weed plants in the entire world. Nevertheless, it is actually grown for its nut-like tubers in southern Europe, western Asia, and much of Africa. The tubers evidently taste like almonds, and can be eaten raw or cooked, crushed to make a cold drink, ground into flour, or even roasted and ground to make a caffeine-free substitute for coffee. Since the Yellow Nutsedge is a perennial that tolerates a variety of soil types, it seems like an excellent agricultural crop. Maybe we are calling the wrong plants “weeds”….
