ABSTRACT
In North America, chufa seems to be native to most states, as well as in southern Canada. Weedy forms often do not produce seeds and rely mostly on their tubers for reproduction. Chufa occurs in various habitats, especially damp soils. Weedy forms occur in moist depressions and ditches; in wet ground on the margins of streams and ponds; in pastures, old fields, and lawns; and along roadsides and railways. Several taxonomic varieties of Cyperus esculentus have been recognized, one of these in Eurasia, and the domesticated forms appear to have been derived from it rather than from New World plants. Bags of dried chufas are sometimes available in Latin markets and health-food stores. Since chufa is grown in the southern United States as livestock feed, it can be purchased from some farmers’ co-ops as “seed” for planting. Chufa has been used historically as food for millennia, and some cultivars are available.
