Cyperus rotundus Linn / Cyperus tuberosus Roth

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Nut grass is a perennial plant, that may reach a height of up to 140 cm (55 inches). The names “nut grass” and “nut sedge” (shared with the related species Cyperus esculentus) are derived from its tubers, that somewhat resemble nuts, although botanically they have nothing to do with nuts.
As in other Cyperaceae, the leaves sprout in ranks of three from the base of the plant, around 5–20 cm long. The flower stems have a triangular cross-section. The flower is bisexual and has three stamina and a three-stigma carpel, with the flower head have 3-8 unequal rays. The fruit is a three-angledachene.
The root system of a young plant initially forms white, fleshy rhizomes, up to 25 mm in dimension, in chains. Some rhizomes grow upward in the soil, then form a bulb-like structure from which new shoots and roots grow, and from the new roots, new rhizomes grow. Other rhizomes grow horizontally or downward, and form dark reddish-brown tubers or chains of tubers.
According to the Ayurveda, root is pungent, acrid, cooling, astringent, appetizer, stomachic, anthelmintic and useful in treatment of leprosy, thirst, fever, blood diseases, biliousness, dysentery, pruritis, pain, vomiting, epilepsy, opthalmia, erysipelas etc. According to the Unani system of medicine, the root is diuretic, emmenagogue, diaphoretic, anthelmintic, vulnerary and useful for ulcers and sores, fevers, dyspepsia, urinary concretions etc.