[6] The earliest attested form of the word cyperus is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀓𐀞𐀫, ku-pa-ro, written in Linear B syllabic script.

C. esculentus – is visually similar but has yellow to bright-yellow florets (lacking the darkened reddish colour of C. rotundus' inflorescence, which can be a bit greenish-pallid without), often arranged in a ladder-like way.

[10] Biomarkers and microscopic evidence of C. rotundus are present in human dental calculus found at the Al Khiday archaeological complex in central Sudan dating from before 6700 BC to the Meroitic pre-Islamic Kingdom of 300–400 AD.

It is suggested that C. rotundus consumption may have contributed to the relatively low frequency of dental caries among the Meroitic population of Al Khiday because of its ability to inhibit Streptococcus mutans.

Modern alternative medicine recommends using the plant to treat nausea, fever and inflammation; for pain reduction; for muscle relaxation and for many other disorders.

[citation needed] Western and Islamic herbalists including Dioscorides, Galen, Serapion, Paulus Aegineta, Avicenna, Rhazes, and Charles Alston have described its use as a stomachic, emmenagogue, and deobstruent, and in emollient plasters.

[19][20] Several chemical substances have been identified in C. rotundus: cadalene, cyprotene, flavonoids, sesquiterpenes, terpenoids, mustakone, isocyperol, α-cyperone, rotundene, valencene,[21] kaempferol, luteolin, quercetin, patchoulenone, isopatchoulenone, sugeonyl acetate, cellulose triacetate and sugebiol.

[22] A sesquiterpene, rotundone, so called because it was originally extracted from the tuber of this plant, is responsible for the spicy aroma of black pepper and the peppery taste of certain Australian Shiraz wines.

[4] Its existence in a field significantly reduces crop yield, both because it is a tough competitor for ground resources, and because it is allelopathic, the roots releasing substances harmful to other plants.

Its capability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions, along with its aggressive growth habit and prolific reproduction, makes it a problematic weed in agricultural and non-agricultural lands.

In Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Cyperus rotundus is a common invasive species in crops, plantations, gardens, and along roadsides.

Similarly, in Thailand, it invades agricultural areas, especially rice paddies, sugarcane fields, and vegetable gardens, causing substantial economic losses.

The weed's resilience to common herbicides and its ability to spread rapidly through both seeds and underground tubers contribute to its invasive status.