and was burned for fuel. The Papyrus Ebers refers to the use of soft papyrus tampons by Egyptian women in the 15th century BC. Egyptians made efficient use of all parts of the plant. Papyrus was an important "gift of the Nile" which is still preserved and perpetuated in Egyptian culture.

Egyptians used the plant (which they called aaru) for many purposes, including for making papyrus paper. Its name has an uncertain origin, but was rendered in Hellenistic Greek