Page 16A – THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, October 29, 2015 www.thewakullanews.com
Purple nut sedge is an invasive plant Natural Wakulla By Les Harrison
Autumn is the season to harvest nuts for both the human and wild residents of Wakulla County. Hickories and oaks are producing a bumper nut crop for the squirrels, deer and other wildlife which are dependent on the fat and nutrients to make it past the cold season. Pecans and peanuts are both available fresh for the picking or purchasing, as are chestnuts for those who can handle the burrs containing the nuts. However, there is one exotic nut not on any list of popular fall delicacies. Purple nut sedge, Cyperus rotundus, grows from every possible sunny location with soil. This non-native plant is a rapidly spreading perennial which will take every opportunity to colonize new locations. The identifier purple is in its name because there is a purple-tinged section of this sedge where it emerges from the ground. The plant is sometimes referred to as purple nut grass because of its long narrow leaves and its erect growth pattern originating from a nutlike basal bulb. There are other s e d g e s i n Wa k u l l a
County, but only yellow nut sedge is identified by a specific color. It is sometimes called chufa and is a popular feed for wild turkeys, and turkey hunters. The dark green, smooth leaves blend in easily with many turf grasses during the spring and summer. Beneath the soil’s surface and out of sight, the root system grows in every direction. Purple nut sedge’s roots are a series of spreading rhizomes and tubers or bulbs identified as nutlets. Each nutlet sprouts a new bunch of grasslike leaves and continues growing the rhizomes. The dense population of this sedge quickly crowds out most other plants, but especially tur f and forage grasses. It can reach a height of 18 inches on its triangle shaped stem. The root system’s design assures this plant’s continued success. If pulled, the rhizomes break off leaving a large number of nutlets to develop and emerge at a later date. If plowed or tilled, the nutlets are detached and spread to new and inviting locations. Many times nutlets lodge in tillage equipment only to shake loose and depos-
PHOTOS BY LES HARRISON/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
Rhizomes and bulb-like nutlets branch out in all directions from this sedge. They easily detach if the plant is pulled from the ground. ited in un-colonized locations. Most herbicides have little effect on this sedge’s hardy root system. Selected preemergent herbicides will prevent many of the nutlets from germinating in spring if properly applied. Wakulla County’s sandy soils provide an ideal growing environment for purple nut sedge. The occasional periods of saturation from storms do not deter this plant’s rapid growth and expansion to new areas, but it will not prosper in heavy shade. Purple nut sedge’s
extreme competitive nature is a heavy consumer of plant nutrients. It robs rivals of important compounds necessary for their survival, and produces an allelopathic substance which is toxic to some plants. Purple nut sedge is found in many locales in North America where the environment is hospitable to its growth. The autumn cool and shorter days send this exotic pest into dor mancy, but the seeds of next year’s crop, and landscape problems, are just under the surface. To learn more about
purple nut sedge in Wakulla County contact the UF/IFAS Wakulla County Extension Office at (850) 926-3931 or http://
wakulla.ifas.ufl.edu/.
Les Harrison is the Wakulla County Extension Director.
THE ROTARY CLUB OF WAKULLA
2015 Distinguished Citizen Award Banquet
THURSDAY - NOV. 5, 2015 • 6 P.M. SOCIAL HOUR • • 7 P.M. DINNER • WAKULLA SENIOR CENTER SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS Senator Bill Montford Former Sheriff David Harvey Bobby Pearce Master of Ceremonies Bob Myhre
Tickets $50 Table Sponsor $500 Event Sponsor $1,000
100% of the proceeds will support a scholarship named in honor of former Superintendent David Miller and will be awarded to deserving Wakulla High School students.
HONORING Former School Superintendent Former School Superintendent
DAVID MILLER
for his Outstanding Service and Commitment to Wakulla County For more information and tickets contact Jerry Evans at 850-926-7145 or William Snowden at 850-926-7102 Wakulla Senior Center RH. Carter Complex 33 Michael Drive Crawfordville, FL 32327
ADVERTISING SPONSORED BY THE WAKULLA NEWS