Cyperus papyrus
speciesAt a glance
Sources15 archives
Databases and archives Cyperus papyrus's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation18 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility3 511 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System8 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI4 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics5 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
giftgenome & karyotype
Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Cyperus papyrus, better known by the common names papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, is a species of aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a tender herbaceous perennial, native to Africa, and forms tall stands of reed-like swamp vegetation in shallow water. Papyrus sedge (and its close relatives) has a very long history of use by humans, notably by the Ancient Egyptians (as it is the source of papyrus paper, one of the first types of paper ever made). Parts of the plant can be eaten, and the highly buoyant stems can be made into boats. It is now often cultivated as an ornamental plant. In nature, it grows in full sun, in flooded swamps, and on lake margins throughout Africa, Madagascar, and the Mediterranean countries. It has been introduced outside its range to tropical regions worldwide (such as the Indian subcontinent, South America, and the Caribbean).
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology6
Life cycle & reproduction6
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment10
Physiology & chemistry2
Compounds documented for Cyperus papyrus across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds80 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (+)-alpha-Pinene | present | NPASS | |
| (+)-taxifolin | present | NPASS | |
| (2R,2'R,3S,3'S,4S)-2'-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-3,3',4,4'-tetrahydro-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)(4,8'-bi-2H-1-benzopyran)-3,3',5',7,7'-pentol | present | NPASS | |
| (2R,3S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-8-[(2R,3S,4R)-3,7-dihydroxy-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-4-yl]-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,5,7-triol | present | NPASS | |
| (2R,3S)-8-[(2R,3S,4R)-3,7-dihydroxy-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-4-yl]-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,5,7-triol | present | NPASS | |
| (2R,3S,4R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-6-[(2R,3S,4S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-4-yl]-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,4,7-triol | present | NPASS | |
| (2R,3S,4S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-6-[(2R,3S,4S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-4-yl]-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,4,7-triol | present | NPASS | |
| 1,6-di-O-Galloylglucose | present | NPASS | |
| 2-Acetyl-4,8-dihydro-5-methylbenzo[1,2-b:5,4-b']difuran-4,8-dione | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-Prop-1-en-2-ylfuro[3,2-f][1]benzofuran-4,8-dione | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Cyperus papyrus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Cyperus papyrus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 1021×GIFT · GIFT (floras)
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
How it livedPBDB
Record type3 519 records
Origin
Range
Depth
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions64 of 128 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Pretoria, ZA | 41 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 30 |
| Saint Louis, US | 30 |
| Durban, ZA | 25 |
| Kew, GB | 19 |
| National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record | 17 |
| Auckland, NZ | 14 |
| Brisbane, AU | 11 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 9 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 9 |
| Yaoundé, CM | 8 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 8 |
| Durango, MX | 7 |
| València, ES | 6 |
| Canberra, AU | 6 |
| LBVlocation not on record | 6 |
| HNBlocation not on record | 5 |
| Salvador, BR | 5 |
| Bronx, US | 5 |
| Tampa, US | 5 |
| Herbier National du Gabonlocation not on record | 5 |
| Miami, US | 4 |
| Altos de Pipe, VE | 4 |
| Puerto Ayora, EC | 4 |
| Antiguo Cuscatlán, SV | 4 |
| BClocation not on record | 3 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 3 |
| Denver, US | 3 |
| Universidad de Caldas (UCaldas)location not on record | 3 |
| Berlin, DE | 3 |
| Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Moreloslocation not on record | 3 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 3 |
| Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record | 3 |
| Laboratorio de Ictiologialocation not on record | 3 |
| Rishon Le Zion, IL | 3 |
| Leiden University Medical Centerlocation not on record | 3 |
| WAGlocation not on record | 3 |
| UFBAlocation not on record | 3 |
| Logan, US | 3 |
| Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record | 3 |
| Cambridge, US | 2 |
| Paris, FR | 2 |
| St. Paul, US | 2 |
| Forest Herbarium Ibadan (FHI)location not on record | 2 |
| Honolulu, US | 2 |
| Wlocation not on record | 2 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 2 |
| LDlocation not on record | 2 |
| MAlocation not on record | 2 |
| Taipei, TW | 2 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 2 |
| Porto Alegre, BR | 2 |
| Masindi, UG | 2 |
| Phoenix, US | 2 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paranálocation not on record | 2 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 2 |
| Kensington, AU | 2 |
| Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ)location not on record | 2 |
| Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropicallocation not on record | 2 |
| Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)location not on record | 1 |
| Philadelphia, US | 1 |
| CICYTEXlocation not on record | 1 |
| Sevilla, ES | 1 |
| Henry Brockhouse Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| Taipei, TW | 1 |
| Alexandria Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Universität Göttingenlocation not on record | 1 |
| USP-IBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 1 |
| UNIVASFlocation not on record | 1 |
| John T. Waterhouse Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| San Diego, US | 1 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS)location not on record | 1 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 1 |
| TAFORI-LSRClocation not on record | 1 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 1 |
| Catalina Island Conservancylocation not on record | 1 |
| BDBClocation not on record | 1 |
| Tokushima, JP | 1 |
| San Angelo, US | 1 |
| Adelaide, AU | 1 |
| Dresden, DE | 1 |
| GJOlocation not on record | 1 |
| CPATSAlocation not on record | 1 |
| JBRJlocation not on record | 1 |
| Madrid, ES | 1 |
| Armidale, AU | 1 |
| UEPAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Guatemala, GT | 1 |
| UNICAMPlocation not on record | 1 |
| Podgorica, ME | 1 |
| Ciudad de México, MX | 1 |
| Nishihara, JP | 1 |
| UFPElocation not on record | 1 |
| Plocation not on record | 1 |
| Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis (JBBJCM)location not on record | 1 |
| Universidad Católica de Oriente (UCO)location not on record | 1 |
| La Paz, BO | 1 |
| Embrapa Agrobiology Diazothrophic Microbial Culture Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| FPMZBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Universiti Sains Malaysialocation not on record | 1 |
| Orto botanico dell'Università degli Studi di Catanialocation not on record | 1 |
| Nishihara, JP | 1 |
| CMULlocation not on record | 1 |
| Long Beach, US | 1 |
| Córdoba, AR | 1 |
| Uppsala, SE | 1 |
| Brasília, BR | 1 |
| St. Augustine, TT | 1 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 1 |
| UIBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Bangkok, TH | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| Chapingo, MX | 1 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 1 |
| BRLUlocation not on record | 1 |
| BISHlocation not on record | 1 |
| Gump Stationlocation not on record | 1 |
| Smithfield, AU | 1 |
| Irvine, US | 1 |
| Chaguaramas, TT | 1 |
| Palmerston, AU | 1 |
| Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH)location not on record | 1 |
| OTSlocation not on record | 1 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 1 |
| UnBlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Cyperus papyrus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.