348 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 
grades the stems are split. The splitting is done when the 
stems are fresh or, at least, before they become dry. Mats made 
from balangg6ét are very attractive. The manufacture of slip- 
pers of this material is carried on to a considerable extent in 
some towns of Bulacan Province, Luzon. 
Cyperus malaccensis is a rather coarse, usually gregarious, 
perennial sedge reaching a height of from 0.5 to 1.5 meters. 
The stems are leafless and sharply three-angled, almost three- 
winged near the top. This sedge occurs in brackish swamps, 
along tidal streams, bordering nipa areas, and is often abundant 
back of the mangrove swamps when this area is not wooded. 
In some regions it is very plentiful. 
CYPERUS RADIATUS Vahl. ALINANG. 
Local names: Alinang (Bikol, Bisaya); balabalanggitan (Tagalog) ; 
bal-laayang (Union); dagko, dbod-6bod (Bisaya); updpi (Cagayan). 
In some parts of the Philippines the outer portions of the 
stems are stripped, dried in the shade, and used for weaving 
mats, mattings, and screens. This utilization is apparently 
local. 
Cyperus radiatus is a coarse sedge 0.2 to 1 meter in height. 
The leaves are one-half to two-thirds as long as the stems and 
7 millimeters or less in width. The inflorescence is subtended 
by long, leaf-like bracts. It is widely distributed in the settled 
areas of the Philippines at low altitudes, and occurs in shallow 
swamps and open wet places. 
Genus FIMBRISTYLIS 
FIMBRISTYLIS DIPHYLLA Vahl. TABTABIN. 
Local names: Muthd (Manila); pauai (Benguet); tabtabin (Zambales) ; 
tayok-tayok (Zambales, Panay, Occidental Negros). 
The stems of this species are used for much the same pur- 
poses as those of Fimbristylis globulosa, but are inferior to 
them. The material is prepared by drying in the sun. 
Fimbristylis diphylla is a small, slender sedge growing in 
wet situations. The leaves are slender and grow in considerable 
numbers from the base of the stem. 
This species is found throughout the settled areas of the 
Philippines and is the commonest representative of the genus. 
FIMBRISTYLIS GLOBULOSA Kunth (Plate XV). TIkUG. 
Local names: Anahiuan, tdyok-tdyok, tikog, tikug, pilokong (Bisaya) ; 
badang-badang (Ilocos Norte) ; mutd (Pampanga) ; pakupakian (Bulacan) ; 
sud-sud (Moro). 
This is apparently the most important matting sedge in the 
Philippines. It is extensively utilized in the Bisaya Islands 
