Cyperaceae

Papyrus sedge

Cyperus papyrus L.

Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Cyperus

Pets and kids

CatsNot sure
DogsNot sure
KidsNot sure

Why

Cats: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for cats, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Dogs: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for dogs, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Kids: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for young children, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with a doctor or poison control.

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

Papyrus sedge: Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, UGANDA — Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (60)

Amharic: ቄጠማ
Arabic: سعد بردي, بردي
arz: بردى, بردي
Asturian: Papiru
Azerbaijani: Papirus topalağı
Basque: Papiro-landare
Bulgarian: Папирус
Cantonese: 紙莎草
Chinese: 紙莎草, 纸莎草, 纸草
Croatian: Papirus
Czech: Šáchor papírodárný
Dutch: Papyrusriet, Papyrusplant
English: Papyrus sedge, Papyrus, CyperusPapyrus, Nile grass, Paper reed
Esperanto: Papiruscipero
Estonian: Papüürus-lõikhein
Finnish: Papyruskaisla
fj: Papirusi
French: Jonc du Nil, Papyrus
frr: Papyrusraid
Galician: Papiro
Georgian: Პაპირი, Caperus papyrus, Პაპირუსი
German: Echter Papyrus, Papyrusstaude
Greek: Πάπυρος
Hebrew: גומא פפירוס, גומא הפפירוס
hsb: Papjerowc
Hungarian: Papiruszsás, Papirusznád
Italian: Papiro, Papiro egiziano
Japanese: カミガヤツリ, パピルス, パピルス草
kab: Udid
Kazakh: Папирус
Kinyarwanda: Urufunzo
Korean: 파피루스
kw: Papyrus
Kyrgyz: Папирус
Lithuanian: Papirusinė viksvuolė, Papirusas
Luxembourgish: Papyrusplanz, Papyrus
Malagasy: Zozoro papirosy
Malayalam: നൈൽഗ്രാസ്
mrj: Папирус
Norwegian Bokmål: Papyrus, Papyrusgress, Papyrusplante
olo: Papirus
os: Папирус
Persian: نی مردابی
Polish: Cibora papirusowa
Portuguese: Papiro
Romanian: Papirus
Russian: Папирус, Сыть папирусная
Serbian: Papirus, Папирус
Shona: Nhokwe
Spanish: Papiro
Swedish: Papyrus
Tamil: பன்புல்
Thai: กกอียิปต์, ต้นปาปิรัส, พาไพรัส
Ukrainian: Папірус
Uzbek: Papirus
Vietnamese: Cói giấy
Welsh: Hesg lydan, Papurfrwynen
wuu: 纸莎草
xmf: Ჭოლი
Yiddish: פאפירוס

Synonyms

Chlorocyperus papyrus (L.) Rikli
Cyperus papyrus subsp. siculus (Parl.) Chiov.

Characteristics

Growth habit: Graminoid
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced

Photos

Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Zebra17 assumed, CC BY 2.5, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: T.Voekler, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: JonRichfield, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Gary Houston, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: pjt56 ---, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Roger Culos, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: MUNIERA, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: MDK-MUSO, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Cyperus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.