Historia plantarum

Cyperus Galingale: to the Greeks, κύπειρος kypeiros: to the Arabs, Saherade: to the Italians, Cypero: to the Germans, Vvilder Galgan wild galingale: to the Spaniards, Joncia de Olor scented rush, or Joncia Auellanda: to the French, Souchet.

A botanical woodcut illustration of a Cyperus plant, characterized by long, slender stalks that terminate in a whorl of leaf-like bracts and delicate flower spikes. The base of the plant shows a dense cluster of narrow, grass-like leaves and a complex root system with small tubers or rhizomes.

Dioscorides, book 1, chapter 4.
Galen, book 7, simple medicines.

It grows in marshy grounds, in swamps, and in cultivated lands.

The roots of the Cyperus warm and dry equally without sharpness. They also possess some faculty for cutting through humors.