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25-563: The Commune of Kirundo has an area of 207.3 square kilometres (80.0 sq mi) and had a population of 93,110 as of the 2008 census. The Rwihinda Lake Nature Reserve is in Kirundo commune, to the west of Kirundo Airport . Marshes extend northwest from the reserve to the Akanyaro River, which forms the border with Rwanda . Lake Rwihinda has been threatened by lack of rain since 1999 and excessive evapotranspiration . Settlements include

50-588: Is 1,420 metres (4,660 ft) above sea level. Mutawenzi and the Mutawenzi Military Camp are just south of the lake. The Kirundo Airport and the settlement of Rutare are to the northeast. A marshy strip leads northwest to the Akanyaru River . Lake Narungazi and Lake Gitamo also drain into this marshy strip. If the cyperus papyrus swamp in the Nyavyamo valley downstream of the lake were drained,

75-496: Is by wind, not insects, and the mature fruits after release are distributed by water. Papyrus is a C4 sedge that forms highly productive monotypic stands over large areas of wetland in Africa. The papyrus plant is relatively easy to grow from seed, though in Egypt, it is more common to split the rootstock , and grows quite fast once established. Extremely moist soil or roots sunken in

100-453: Is topped by a dense cluster of thin, bright green, thread-like rays around 10 to 30 cm (4 to 10 in) in length, resembling a feather duster when the plant is young. Greenish-brown flower clusters eventually appear at the ends of the rays, giving way to brown, nut-like fruits . Although no leaves are apparent above the soil line, the younger parts of the rhizome are covered by red-brown, papery, triangular scales, which also cover

125-579: The Lac aux Oiseaux (Bird Lake) is a lake in the Kirundo Province of Burundi . It is home to diverse migratory birds, which are the main tourist attraction in the region. However, despite being protected, it is under threat from encroaching agriculture in this very poor region. Lake Rwihinda is in the Commune of Kirundo , to the north of the provincial capital of Kirundo . It covers 425 hectares (1,050 acres) and

150-582: The Ancient Egyptians (as it is the source of papyrus paper, one of the first types of paper ever made). Parts of the plant can be eaten, and the highly buoyant stems can be made into boats. It is now often cultivated as an ornamental plant . In nature, it grows in full sun, in flooded swamps, and on lake margins throughout Africa, Madagascar, and the Mediterranean countries. It has been introduced outside its range to tropical regions worldwide (such as

175-575: The Nile Delta , Cyperus papyrus was widely cultivated in ancient times. It is for example depicted on a restored stucco fragment from the palace of Amenhotep III near the present-day village of Malkata . Currently, only a small population remains in Egypt, in Wadi El Natrun . Theophrastus 's History of Plants (Book iv. 10) states that it grew in Syria , and according to Pliny's Natural History , it

200-800: The Okavango Delta use small sections of the stem as floats for their nets. Papyrus can be found in tropical rain forests, tolerating annual temperatures of 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 °F) and a soil pH of 6.0 to 8.5. It flowers in late summer, and prefers full sun to partly shady conditions. Like most tropical plants, it is sensitive to frost. In the United States, it has become invasive in Florida and has escaped from cultivation in Louisiana , California , and Hawaii . Papyrus sedge forms vast stands in swamps, shallow lakes, and along stream banks throughout

225-499: The Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017). In Ancient Egypt, papyrus was used for various purposes such as baskets, sandals, blankets, medicine, incense, and boats. The woody root was used to make bowls and utensils, and was burned for fuel. The Papyrus Ebers refers to the use of soft papyrus tampons by Egyptian women in the 15th century BCE. Egyptians made efficient use of all parts of

250-612: The Indian subcontinent, South America, and the Caribbean). This tall, robust aquatic plant can grow 4 to 5 m (13 to 16 ft) high, but on the margins of high altitude lakes such as Lake Naivasha in Kenya and Lake Tana in Ethiopia, at altitudes around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) the papyrus culms can measure up to 29.5 feet (9.0 m) in length, with an additional 18 inches (46 cm) for

275-506: The base of the culms. Technically, these are reduced leaves , so strictly it is not quite correct to call this plant fully "leafless". Egyptians used the plant (which they called aaru , or the subspecies C. p. papyrus , which came very close to extinction, but was rediscovered in 1968. ) for many purposes, including for making papyrus paper. Its name has an uncertain origin, but was rendered in Hellenistic Greek as πάπυρος. In

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300-417: The common names papyrus , papyrus sedge , paper reed , Indian matting plant , or Nile grass , is a species of aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae . It is a tender herbaceous perennial , native to Africa, and forms tall stands of reed-like swamp vegetation in shallow water. Papyrus sedge (and its close relatives) has a very long history of use by humans, notably by

325-472: The gods in gratitude. The pith of young shoots was eaten both cooked and raw. Its woody root made bowls and other utensils and was burned for fuel. From the stems were made reed boats (seen in bas-reliefs of the Fourth Dynasty showing men cutting papyrus to build a boat; similar boats are still made in southern Sudan ), sails, mats, cloth, cordage, and sandals. Theophrastus states that King Antigonus made

350-483: The inflorescence (a spicate umbel; i.e. each of the up to one thousand rays of the umbel terminates in a spike of small flowers) for a total height of 31 feet (9.4 m). Each culm is a single internode ‍ — ‍ the longest known of any plant. At Lake Naivasha, the culms, triangular in cross-section, were as much as 7 inches (18 cm) on a side in width. It forms a grass-like clump of triangular green stems that rise up from thick, woody rhizomes . Each stem

375-572: The lake have improved the biodivesity habitat. A poorly conceived campaign to introduce oil palm cultivation in the Bugesera region caused farmers to clear part of the buffer zone. Under a government-sponsored program, part of the Nyavyamo marsh connecting Lake Rwihinda to the Akanyaru River will soon be developed for agriculture. Unless carefully managed, this could cause the lake to dry up. Cyperus papyrus Cyperus papyrus , better known by

400-477: The lake would empty out into the Akanyaru River . Lake Rwihinda is important for its aquatic biodiversity, and also for the local economy. The birds of Lake Rwihinda are the main tourist attraction of the paysage aquatique du nord , with 200 to 300 tourists visiting each year for birdwatching. The lake attracts diverse species of migratory birds. This may be threatened by the effects of climate change and encroaching cultivation. More than 60 bird species visit

425-460: The lake, including remarkable species such as Reed cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus , Gambian Spur-winged goose Plectropterus gambensis , Great white pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and Little egret Egretta garzetta . The site also supports many animal species in all their life cycles from reproduction to growth. The last hippopotamus in the lake was killed in 1989. Not long ago, Vervet monkeys ( Cercopithecus aethiops ) were abundant in

450-479: The middle of the lake has undisturbed vegetation dominated by Phoenix reclinata , with other plants such as Cyperus papyrus and Phragmites mauritianus . Lake Rwihinda is the only northern lake to have been protected for some time, with the goal of conserving its rich variety of birds. A management plan for the lake was published in 2005. The lake was part of the Lacs du Nord Aquatic Landscape Protected Area that

475-581: The provincial capital of Kirundo ; Rutare , to the north of the airport; and Mutwenzi , near to the Mutwenzi military base. Kirundo is divided into 22 collines , from north to south: This Burundi location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rwihinda Lake Nature Reserve Lake Rwihinda ( French : Lac Rwihinda , 2°32′22″S 30°03′15″E  /  2.53944°S 30.05417°E  / -2.53944; 30.05417  ( Lake Rwihinda ) ), also known as

500-417: The rigging of his fleet of papyrus, an old practice illustrated by the ship's cable, wherewith the doors were fastened when Odysseus slew the suitors in his hall ( Odyssey xxi. 390). The adventurer Thor Heyerdahl had a boat built for him of papyrus, Ra , in an attempt to demonstrate that ancient African or Mediterranean people could have reached America. He was unsuccessful with this boat. Fishermen in

525-459: The riparian areas of Lake Rwihinda. The egg-eating snake Dasypeltis scabra has been found on Akagwa Island in Lake Rwihinda, where it devastates bird nests. Floating plants on the lake are mostly nymphaea , potamogeton and utricularia species. The lake is surrounded by a wooded savanna with species of Acacia and Combretum , which are being cleared for agriculture. Akagwa Island in

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550-458: The water is preferred and the plant can flower all year long. Vegetative propagation is the suggested process of creating new plants. It is done by splitting the rhizomes into small groups and planting normally. It can reach heights of up to 16 feet tall. C. papyrus is considered to be hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 and 10. C. papyrus and the dwarf cultivar C. papyrus 'Nanus' have gained

575-508: The wetter parts of Africa, but it has become rare in the Nile Delta . In deeper waters, it is the chief constituent of the floating, tangled masses of vegetation known as sudd . It also occurs in Madagascar , and some Mediterranean areas such as Sicily and the Levant . The "feather-duster" flowering heads make ideal nesting sites for many social species of birds. As in most sedges, pollination

600-565: Was also a native plant of the Niger River and the Euphrates . Neither the explorer Peter Forsskål , an apostle of Carl Linnaeus , in the 18th century, nor the Napoleonic expedition saw it in the delta. Aside from papyrus, several other members of the genus Cyperus may also have been involved in the multiple uses Egyptians found for the plant. Its flowering heads were linked to make garlands for

625-670: Was created in 2006. It was protected as a “Managed Natural Reserve” under the management plan for the Bugesera aquatic landscapes defined in 2011. It is now part of the Protected Aquatic Landscape of the North . Rwihinda, lac aux oiseaux is on the Tentative List for consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The number of waterbirds has been descreasing, but efforts to create a 50 metres (160 ft) wide buffer zone around

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