If you have ever dabbled in the realm of gardens, be it vegetable or ornamental, chances are you have likely encountered the highly opportunistic, invasive lawn weed known as Nutsedge. In Florida, two varieties in particular, Purple Nutsedge (Cyperus rotundas) and Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) can grow and reproduce under virtually any condition with the exception of shady areas 1 .
Nutsedges are perennial weeds that grow from underground nut-like tubers. While herbicides can be applied to spot treat areas that have been invaded, one common mistake in the hand-riddance of nutsedge is merely plucking or pulling out the leafy, above ground portion of the weed. In order to ensure that the weed does not reproduce, the underground nut-like tuber must be removed and properly disposed of.
1. The genus name Cyperus is from Cypeirus which was the ancient Greek name for the genus. The Latin name esculentus means edible and refers to the tubers (cf. Hall, Vandiver & Ferrell. May 1991."Yellow Nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L.1." In: SP 37. Full document here http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FW/FW01400.pdf).
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