Cyperus laevigatus
Cyperaceae or Sedge family
Synonyms: Juncellus laevigatus
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Makaloa
Ehuʻawa, Makoloa
Smooth flatsedge
Natural Range & Environment
Cyperus laevigatus is an indigenous sedge having a wide global distribution, encompassing the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Australia, and various oceanic islands. In Hawai‘i, it occurs on mud flats, sandy coastal sites, and on edges of and in fresh, brackish, and salt water ponds from 0-10 m (0-33 ft) on Kauō (Laysan), Niihau, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island [Wagner et al. 1990]. Cyperus laevigatus is not naturally found on Pihemanu (Midway Atoll); it was intentionally introduced from Kauō (Laysan) to support a transplanted Laysan duck colony that required habitat for nesting and feeding. The plant has since thrived, becoming so abundant that it now poses a challenge to manage [Marzan 2018].
A single spikelet is about the size of a dime (US10¢). Makaloa at Lāʻie Wetland, located in Kīhei, Maui, in its habitat with ʻākulikuli (Sesuvium portulacastrum) (Photograph courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 3.0.). Makaloa growing in a seep on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, with a closeup of its bases and rhizomes (Photograph courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 3.0.).
Description
Makoloa (Cyperus laevigatus) is a perennial sedge that forms clumps of smooth, 3-sided stems up to 60 cm (2 ft) tall, and spreads by rhizomes. Near, but not at the top, are small, cylindrical, reddish to dark brown spikelets of flowers and seeds. With a half-staff flag look, makaloa is somewhat similar in appearance to kaluhā (Schoenoplectiella juncoides), another indigenous sedge, but is overall a smaller plant and likely would not occur together in their natural ranges, with kaluhā being found at higher elevations.
Growth Requirements
General
Makoloa do well as container (no drainage holes) plants. This is what I (Eickhoff) have done, and it works great. A planting container can be filled from half to 3/4 full of good soil that is free of fertilizers (e.g., SunGro Sunshine #4®) with sand, gravel and/or rocks for plant stability. After water has been added, place small clumps of makaloa in random arrangements or a single larger clump in the center, which will spread out and fill the entire container in time. I found that using a no-puka large pots of at least 10 gallons or greater works better than small containers which it will easily outgrow. The size of the container will be limited by your growing area and how much you are willing to spend on a pot or other container.
Makoloa can be used with other native, less aggressive water-loving plants, such as ʻaeʻae (Bacopa monnieri) and kohekohe (Eleocharis obtusa), but can be crowded out by larger, more aggressive sedges, such as kaluhā (Bolboschoenus maritimus) and kohekohe (Eleocharis erythropoda).
Full sun is preferred for makaloa, though it can grow in partial sun too. This dainty-looking, but tough-as-nails sedge, is heat, wind and salt tolerant. However, it is not drought-tolerant will and wilt and die as it is dependent upon consistently wet conditions. The soil should always be wet or water-logged, never allowing it to dry out completely.
In natural pond environments, spent or dead stems of makaloa can either be trimmed or left intact. If the stems are retained, the seed heads will have the opportunity to disperse seeds into the water for natural regeneration.
In addition to its aesthetic appeal, makaloa plays a vital role in controlling erosion along shorelines (brackish, salt water), stream banks or ponds if they exist on your property.
Pests and Diseases
We have found no serious pests for makaloa as yet. Refer to the Pests & Diseases if you do.
Uses
Ancient Hawaiian
Because of its susceptibility to drought, wauke (paper mulberry), cultivated for barkcloth throughout Hawaiʻi and most of Polynesia, did not flourish on the normally dry and windswept island of Niʻihau. Anthropologist Peter H. Buck speculated that the people of Niʻihau specialized in plaiting makaloa as a substitute source of fabric [Rose 1990]. On Niʻihau, the makaloa mats were used for making clothing, such as pāʻū (women's skirts), malo (loincloth), kīhei (capes), and koloka (cloaks). Makaloa was also used to make waʻa (canoe) sails [Rose 1990], for floor and mattress covers (uhi pela) [Wichman & St. John 1994, Neal 1965], and the stem fibers were woven into string or rope [Tava & Keale 1990].
Makaloa mats were called moena makaloa or moena Niʻihau [Rose 1990]. Makaloa (Cyperus laevigatus) is indigenous to Polynesia, but only early Hawaiians used it to plait mats. Though makaloa mats were primarily made on Niʻihau and Kauaʻi, they were occasionally made on other islands as well. Mats from Niʻihau and Kauaʻi were considered to be the finest in all of Polynesia [Abbott 1992, Krauss 1993, Tava & Keale 1990].
Stems were used whole, usually not split, for even finer mats [Abbott 1992, Neal 1965, Whistler 2009]. The upper yellowish and the lower reddish parts were used with the shiny side out [Abbott 1992, Neal 1965]. Makaloa stems were woven into beautiful, decorated mats, or moena pāwehe, only by women. Young plants made the finest mats [Neal 1965].
One of the most remarkable makaloa mats in the Bishop Museum measures 10.5 by 20 feet and features an impressive density of 25 stems per inch. This exquisite mat was worn as a cloak by Kamehameha the Great (Kamehameha I) [Neal 1965]. Notably, Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea [Hawaiian Dictionaries].
Another indigenous sedge, or rush, kohekohe (Eleocharis erythropoda), found only on Niʻihau, Oʻahu and Kahoʻolawe in the Hawaiian Islands, was used to weave design patterns in makaloa mats. Around each kohekohe stem is a bright reddish basal sheath. Early Hawaiians used these basal sheaths (cylinders) to make ornamental designs in makaloa mats called moena pāwale [Tava & Keale 1990, Wichman & St. John 1994].
Medicinally, D.M. Kaaiakamanu & J.K. Akina in Hawaiian Herbs of Medicinal Value assert that makaloa fibers were used to remove impurities from medicinal liquid. They further mention that the stalks were crushed to a fine powder and used to treat deep cuts, boils, skin ulcers and other skin disorders or taken as a snuff for head colds, and the flower and stalk ashes mixed with kukui nut juice were rubbed on the tongue for general debility [Ka‘aiakamanu & Akina 1922].
Modern
Today, makaloa stems are still used to make hats, mats and baskets. Amy Greenwell Garden Ethnobotanical Guide to Native Hawaiian Plants & Polynesian Introduced Plants by Noa Kekuewa Lincoln notes that "the sedge is woven in elaborate patterns with as many as 30 strands in an inch" [Lincoln 2009].
On Molokaʻi, makaloa is used to treat wastewater. This project on Molokaʻi explores the use of makaloa (Cyperus laevigatus) in constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment, but it's part of a feasibility study rather than a currently implemented system. The Hawaii Makaloa Project, a collaboration between the Bishop Museum and Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, aims to integrate wastewater treatment with growing weaving materials and improving habitats for native waterfowl, and protection of near-shore marine ecosystems [Lincoln 2009].
Special Features and Information
General
The large Sedge family (Cyperaceae) has about 5,500 described species in approximately 90 genera [WikipediA;Cyperaceae]. There are currently (2025) fourteen Cyperus species native to Hawai‘i, nine being endemic, while the rest are indigenous. There are also about 25 non-native and naturalized Cyperus species in Hawai‘i [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands]. Some of the better-known non-native Cyperus species in Hawai‘i are: papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), the source of ancient Egyptian paper and the origin of the English word "paper"; umbrella sedge (Cyperus involucratus), a popular ornamental; and purple nutsedge or "nutgrass" (Cyperus rotundus), a noxious lawn weed that keep homeowners busy and commercial gardeners employed.
In Papahāumokuākea, it is naturally found only on Laysan (Kauō), where it makes up an important part of the habitat in and around the 100-acre hypersaline lake in the center of the island. Here, makaloa provides a habitat for the endangered Laysan duck and Laysan finch. On the main islands, makaloa serves as a natural food source and habitat for native water birds, including the ʻalae ʻula (moorhen) and the ʻalae keʻokeʻo (coot).
Makaloa (Cyperus laevigatus) was formerly widespread in lowlands and marshy beaches throughout the islands, and flourished especially along the fringes of Niʻihau's dozen or so intermittent playa lakes, where it apparently was "semicultivated by the old Hawaiians in both fresh and brackish water bogs." The three largest lakes, concentrated on the low southern plain, Hālaliʻi (after rainfall, it becomes the largest lake in Hawaiʻi), Halulu, and Alieiki, have some of the largest concentrations of makaloa in Hawaiʻi [Rose 1990]. Sheep nearly exterminated makaloa until protective barriers were installed around the shore of Halāliʻi Lake, where the plants were found [Wichman & St. John 1994].
Hawaiian Name
Makaloa is a name used on Niʻihau, whereas on the other islands it is called ehuʻawa [Wichman & St. John 1994]. That said, most use Makaloa on all islands for this species. The name ehuʻawa (Cyperus laevigatus), which lacks the first ʻokina, should not be confused with ʻehuʻawa (Cyperus javanicus).
Etymology
The genus name Cyperus comes from kyperos, the Greek word for sedge [Wagner et al. 1990]. The specific epithet laevigatus is polished, not rough, smooth in Latin, in reference to the smooth stems of this rush, as the common name Smooth flatsedge suggests [Gledhill 2008].
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