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Cyperus bulbosus is a bulb-forming sedge native across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia, where it is called bush onion or nalgoo. It is more often a weed of rice fields than a garden plant, so it is grown mainly as a bushfood or left to grow wild.
Cyperus bulbosus is a species of sedge found across Africa, the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. In Australia, it is commonly called Nalgoo or (Australian) bush onion or "wild onion", but is not related to the onion or other Alliaceae. It is a component of Australian bushfood, but is considered an agricultural weed in other areas.
A 12-year study, assessing the diet of Central Australian camels, found that Cyperus bulbosus was a common food plant as indicated by a "palatability index" score of 3. The index ranges from 1 ("only eaten when nothing else is available") to 7 ("could be killed by camel browsing"). The Raso lark, endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, is heavily dependent on Cyperus bulbosus for food.
Tapertip flatsedge · Umbrella Sedge · Jointed flatsedge · Slender flatsedge · Mullumbimby Couch · Variable flatsedge · Piedmont flatsedge · Globe flatsedge · Tall flatsedge · Yellow nutsedge · Haspan flatsedge · Smooth flatsedge
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cyperus bulbosus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
