Taxon: Cyperus papyrus L.

Summary

Genus:

Cyperus

Family:

Cyperaceae

Subfamily:

Cyperoideae

Tribe:

Cypereae

Nomen number:

12905

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:47. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

12/09/2009 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

6 (2 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Boulos, L. 1995. Flora of Egypt checklist.
Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:619-620.
Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1346.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
Haines, R. W. & K. A. Lye. 1983. Sedges and rushes of East Africa
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Molina G., A. M. 2011. Review of Cyperaceae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm. via e-mail on 31 Mar.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Simpson, D. A. & C. A. Inglis. 2001. Cyperaceae of economic, ethnobotanical and horticultural importance: a checklist. Kew Bull. 56:302.
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
Smith, R. J. Botanical beads of the world (on-line resource).
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1980. Flora europaea. 5:285.
Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	Egyptian paperplant	1	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1346.
English	papyrus	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	papier du Nil	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	souchet à papier	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Papyrusstaude	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese	papiro	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	papiro	2	Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
Spanish	papiro del Nilo	2	Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
Swedish	papyrus	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania		incl. Zanzibar	Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Chad			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Liberia			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Congo			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Gabon			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Reunion			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
2	Cultivated					also cult. elsewhere
2	Cultivated	Africa		Africa			Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:619-620.
3	Adventive	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy	Sicilia		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile	Juan Fernández Islands		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania (incl. Zanzibar), Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Gabon, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga]
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion

Cultivated

REGION:

Africa

REGION: Africa

Adventive
Europe

SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain

Naturalized
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Israel

Asia-Tropical

INDO-CHINA: Thailand

Europe

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Italy [Sicilia]

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Chile [Juan Fernández Islands]

Reference(s)

Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:619-620.
Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Environmental	ornamental	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Materials	beads	Smith, R. J. Botanical beads of the world (on-line resource).
Materials	fiber	Simpson, D. A. & C. A. Inglis. 2001. Cyperaceae of economic, ethnobotanical and horticultural importance: a checklist. Kew Bull. 56:302.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=12905. Accessed 15 April 2026.