342 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 
mum angustifolium is widely distributed in northern Luzon, 
growing on open slopes, but it is not known from other parts of 
the Philippines. 
Genus MISCANTHUS 
MISCANTHUS SINENSIS Anders. BiGcAo. 
Local names: Biauw (Batanes Islands) ; bigdo, bigaho, gaho, gisa (Bikol) ; 
bi-idu (Benguet); runo (Igorot); talahib (Zambales). 
This coarse grass is used for thatching houses. The stems 
are used like wattles for making side walls of houses and some- 
times even for covering the floors. In Sorsogon, splints made 
from the stems are used in making screens and window shades. 
The stems are sometimes employed for making shafts of arrows. 
Miscanthus sinensis is a coarse, erect, gregarious grass 1 to 3 
meters in height. It occurs in abundance at medium and high 
altitudes, especially in the Mountain Province of Luzon. When 
repeated fires have occurred this grass frequently occupies an 
area to the almost entire exclusion of other vegetation, just as 
Imperata exalta (kogon) and Saccharum spontaneum  (tala- 
hib) do at lower elevations. 
Genus ORYZA 
ORYZA SATIVA L. RICE. 
Rice straw is used in Ilocano districts for making hats for 
home use, and in schools in Ilocos Norte for the upper soles of 
slippers. Sometimes rice straws are tied into bundles and are 
used as brooms for rough housework. 
Genus PHRAGMITES 
PHRAGMITES KARKA (Retz) Trin. Lupi. 
Local names: Lupi (Camarines); sabunog (Negros Occidental) ; tanz- 
bong (Bontoe Subprovince). 
This species is larger and rarer than Phragmites vulgaris and 
apparently is used for the same purposes. 
PHRAGMITES VULGARIS Trin. (Plates X, XI). TAMBO. 
Local names: Bagang, tabéinak, tangb6 (Bisaya); lupi (Bikol); també 
(Tagalog, Bisaya, Bikol); tagisi (Ibanag) ; tamb% (Bulacan, Rizal, Manila 
vicinity, Batangas) ; tandbong (Pangasinan). 
The chief use of this grass appears to be in the manufacture 
of a peculiar type of dust broom used for sweeping highly 
polished floors. The panicles arranged in a fan-like manner 
form the broom, while the culms tightly bound to a central 
strengthening piece of bamboo form the handle. These brooms 
are of great utility and are extensively used in the Philippines. 
The best grade of Phragmites broom is manufactured from the 
