Cyperus articulatus / Piri Piri / Cyperaceae (Sedge family)

Information

This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

Piri-Piri, Piri Piri, Cyperus, Piripiri Bulb, Piri Piri root, Ivenkiki, Hiseñu.

Contents

Piri-piri contains flavonoids, polyphenols, saponins, tannins, terpenes and sugars. Many of its biological actions are attributed to various sesquiterpenes called cyperones which are also found in other Cyperus plants in the family. The terpene chemicals documented in Piri Piri thus far include: alpha-corymbolol, alpha-cyperone, alpha-pinene, carophyllene oxide, corymbolone, cyperotundone, iso-patchoul-4(5)-en-3-one, mandas- sidione, and mustakone. (1)

Historical

Held in high esteem by many tribes of the Amazon, the Machiguenga use the Piri Piri root as an aid in hunting.
"He takes a few quiet steps and doubles over a few spindly understory palms that obstruct his view, never taking his eyes off the monkey far overhead. He again takes up his stance, and this time removes a small cluster of sedge (Cyperus) bulbs from a net bag slung across his back. He snaps off one piece and chews the bitter, aromatic quid.
He rubs the chewed root onto his bow and arrow shaft, and then spits a fine, turpentine-smelling spray upward as he watches the monkey. 'Straight up, straight to the heart, no branches, fly straight and fast,' he mumbles to the bow, to the arrow, to the monkey, to himself. The muscles across his back stand out in relief for a moment as he draws and aims the taut bow... He releases the arrow with a soft grunt and a snap of the string. The arrow whizzes through the air and hits its target square in the chest."

The indigenous Indian tribes of the Amazon region ascribe magical properties to Piri Piri. The tall stems and/or the rhizomes are dried and powdered, or are prepared as a tea and used as a good luck charm or a love potion (called a "Pusanga"). Women will cultivate the plant and bathe their children with it to prevent sickness and injury, and give it to their husbands to bring good luck in hunting and fishing. Piri Piri is also well used as a medicine by the indigenous people and the rhizome is the part of the plant which is used.(1)

Mateo Arevalo (a Shipibo practitioner of traditional medicine): "Every grandmother, like a baptism, puts Piri Piri plant seed drops in a girls eyes when she is born. This transmits the designs she will make her whole life."(2)

Plant Description

Piri Piri is a type of reed-like tropical grass called a "sedge-grass." It can attain the height of 6 feet and grows in damp, marshy and flooded areas along the rivers and streams (where it can help control soil erosion) in the Amazon basin. It grows in clumps from dividing rhizomes which are about 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter. The tall green stems are fibrous, round, and hollow and can be up to 3/4 in. wide at the base. Piri Piri stems have sometimes been used like reeds in basket-making and other crafts by the locals in the Amazon. It produces small, white, wheat-like flowers at the very top of its long stems. Although native to the Amazon, Piri Piri can be found in many other tropical areas and countries, including the southern United States, Africa, Asia, Australia, and across the South American continent. It can be found growing alongside the Nile River in Africa just as it grows alongside the Amazon River in South America. (1)

Legal Remarks

This product is illegal or somehow problematic to send to the following countries. Click on the country link for further information.

• Australia
• Norway

References

(1) Piri Piri, Raintree Plant Database
(2) In Her Hands, Craftswomen changing the world, by Paola Gianturco and Toby Tuttle.
(3) Shipibo's Art and the Plants of Spirits, Virtual Museum of Anthropology, Hiruwaka Institute.

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