Purple Nutsedge

What it looks like

Grass-like but with a triangular stem instead of round or flat. Leaves are darker green with a blunt tip, and it can send up a reddish-purple seedhead. Dig it up and you'll find tubers growing in chains underground, which is a key way to tell it apart from its yellow nutsedge cousin.

Often mistaken for: Yellow nutsedge

When it shows up in the Triangle

Active during the warm months and tends to die back earlier in fall than yellow nutsedge.

Where you’ll see it

Shows up in home lawns, especially areas that stay consistently wet or poorly drained.

What you can do

• Fix drainage issues and cut back on overwatering - this weed loves wet soil
• Confirm you actually have purple nutsedge and not yellow nutsedge, since purple is much harder to control
• Avoid moving soil or mowing through infested patches and then going elsewhere, since tubers travel on equipment
• Hand-pulling won't get rid of it - the tuber chains stay behind and regrow
• Keep an eye on problem patches early since it spreads over time if left alone