Cyperua.~] cyperace^e. 385 



Spikelets spicate along the rays. 



Rhachis of the spikes glabrous. Glumes closely imbricate. 

 Spikelets 2- to 4-flowered, nearly cylindrical, densely imbricate 



in cylindrical spikes 8. C. umbellatus. 



Spikelets 6- to 10-flowered, rather flattened, very spreading, 



in rather dense spikes 9. C. pennatus. 



Rhachis pubescent or hairy. Spikelets loosely 6- to 10-flowered, 



flat, in loose spikes 10. C. pilosus. 



Spikelets 5 to 10 lines long. 



Spikeiets few, in short spikes on each ray. Glumes closely imbri- 

 cate 11. C. rotundus. 



Spikelets very slender, in loose spikes. Glumes alternate, scarcely 



imbricate 12. C. distans. 



1. C. vulgaris, Sleb.; Kunth, Enum. ii. 4. Stems tufted, rather slen- 

 der, £ to 1 ft. high. Leaves narrow, shorter than the stem. Umbel of seve- 

 ral rays, the longest 1 to 1| in., with 2 or 3 long leafy unequal bracts. 

 Spikelets 3 to 10 or more in each cluster, very spreading, £ to \ in. long, 

 flat but narrow. Glumes 20 to 30 or even more, obtuse, pale brown, with a 

 green keel and narrow scarious edges. Stamens usually 2. Style 2-cleft. Nut 

 obovate, dark brown. 



Hongkong, Hance ; a single specimen mixed with other species. Widely spread over tro- 

 pical and subtropical Asia, extending from eastern Africa and some parts of the Mediterra- 

 nean region to the Indian Archipelago, and northward to Shanghai. 



2. C. Eragrostis, Vahl ; Kunth, Enum. ii. 7. Rhizome slender and 

 shortly creeping. Stems 8 to 10 in. or rarely 1 ft. high. Leaves much 

 shorter, grass-like. Umbel usually contracted into a single dense head or 

 cluster, or accompanied by 1 or 2 pedunculate ones. Outer bracts leafy, one 

 very long. Spikelets 4 to 10 or more in the cluster, obtuse and very flat, 

 seldom above 4 lines long. Glumes 10 to 20 or rather more, not |- line long, 

 very obtuse and broad, green on the keel, pale brown, with dark spots on the 

 side, but bordered with a rich red-brown, giving a dark or variegated colour to 

 the spikelet. Stamens 3. Style 2-cleft. Nut ovate, dark-brown. 



On the edges of paddy-fields, Wilford. In the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore. 



3. C. polystachyus, Rottb. ; Kunth, Enum. ii. 13. Stems tufted from 

 a short horizontal rhizome, \ to above 2 ft. high. Leaves much shorter. 

 Umbel usually contracted into a dense head, surrounded by 3 to 6 unequal 

 leafy bracts. Spikelets numerous, flat but very narrow, acute, about -§- in. long. 

 Glumes about 20, narrow, with short points, of a rather pale brown, with 

 lighter-coloured keel and edges. Stamens 1 or 2. Style 2-cleft. Nut 

 narrow-oblong. 



Hongkong, Hance, Wright. Widely spread over the tropical and subtropical regions of 

 the New and the Old World. 



C. compressus, Linn. ; Kunth, Enum. ii. 23. A widely diffused species, readily known 

 among the 3-gynous Cyperi by its very flat spikelets, with broad acutely keeled and pointed 

 glumes of a pale greenish colour. It appears to be common in S. China, and will probably 

 be found in Hongkong, although I have not as yet seen any specimens from thence. 



4. C. difformis, Linn.; Kunth, Enum. ii. 23. A tufted annual, | to 1 

 ft. or rarely higher. Leaves shorter than the stems. Umbel of several un- 

 equal rays, rarely contracted into a single head ; the outer "bracts long and 

 leafv. Clusters small, globular, consisting of very numerous obtuse spikelets 



2 c 



