120 A FLORA OF MANILA 
13. SCLERIA Bergius 
Annual or perennial, usually tufted, the stems erect, leafy. Leaves 
narrow, often minutely toothed, sheathing at the base. Panicle often stout, 
elongated, compound, sometimes narrow, the primary bracts leaf-like, the 
secondary ones often setaceous. Flowers all unisexual, usually both male 
and female in the same spikelets, one female below and few males above, 
usually 2 to 4 empty glumes below the flowering ones. Stamens 1 to 3. 
Nut bony, often shining, smooth or variously roughened, globose or ovoid, 
the gynophore usually prominent under the nut. (From the Greek “hard,” 
alluding to the hardened seeds.) 
Species 150 or more in most warm countries, about 15 in the Philippines. 
1. Nut smooth; slender plants less than 60 cm high. 
2. Rootstocks stout, woody; spikelets 3 to 4 mm long, few. 
1. S. lithosperma 
2. Roots fibrous; spikelets 4 to 5 mm long..............................-- 2. S. zeylanica 
1. Nut rugose. 
2. Slender, hairy or smooth; nuts tesselate, the raised reticulations with 
short Taha. oo sets Sets 2 ec Be 3. S. tessellata 
2. Coarse, scabrid; nuts rugose, glabrous...........................- 4. S. scrobiculata 
’ 
1. S. lithosperma (L.) Sw. 
A rather slender, laxly tufted plant, or the stems scattered, from woody 
rootstocks, glabrous or the sheaths somewhat pubescent, 15 to 60 cm high. 
Leaves 2 to 20 cm long, 2 to 3 mm wide. Panicles thin, rather lax, narrow, 
5 to 15 cm long, the branches few, distant. Spikelets few, more or less 
clustered, 3 to 4 mm long. Nut hard, white, shining, smooth, 2.5 mm long, 
ellipsoid, slightly 8-angled at base and apex. 
In dry thickets, Masambong, fi. July—Nov.; widely distributed in the Phil- 
ippines. Tropics generally, except Africa. 
2. S. zeylanica Poir. 
A rather slender, glabrous or somewhat hairy plant, tufted or the 
stems scattered, 20 to 40 cm high, from fibrous roots. Leaves 5 to 20 cm 
long, about 2.5 mm wide. Panicles axillary, distant, small, or reduced to 
spikes, 1 to 2.5 cm long. Spikelets 4 to 5 mm long, the glumes prominently 
acuminate. Nut ovoid, white, usually shining, smooth or obscurely rugose, 
about 2 mm long. 
In open wet grass lands, old rice-paddies etc., Caloocan to San Pedro 
Macati, fl. Sept.Jan.; widely distributed in the Philippines. India and 
Ceylon to Malaya. 
8. S. tessellata Willd. Catabad (Tag.). 
Erect, slender, loosely tufted, from fibrous roots somewhat hairy or 
glabrous, 30 to 60 cm high. Leaves linear, 10 to 20 cm long, scattered. 
Inflorescence interrupted, the partial panicles 5 to 7 cm long, few-flowered. 
Spikelets 3 to 4 mm long, the glumes caudate-acuminate. Nut white, sub- 
globose, about 2 mm in diameter, prominently tessellate, the margins of the 
raised reticulations pubescent with short pale or brownish hairs. 
In old rice lands and similar places, occasional, fl. Aug—Jan.; of wide 
distribution in the Philippines. India to Japan southward to Australia. 
