Cyperus."] OLXXII. CYPERACE.E. (C. B. Clarke.) 609 



Wight Contrib. 83 (part of Wall n. 3342 C. with trifid style). C. spanio- 

 phyllus, Steud: Gyp. 21; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. iii. '267. C. tegetiformis, 

 JSenth. Fl. Austral, vii. 279 mostly (not Roxb.). C. Pangorei and Pani- 

 motha, Herb. Ham. ; Wall. Gat. 3329, M. N.Rheede Hori. Mai. xii. 93, t. 

 50. 



On brackish mud banks, from BENGAL to SINGAPORE. SIND ; Pinwill. 

 DISTRIB. Asia, Austral., Polynes. 



Glabrous. Stolons long, | 1 in. diam., clothed by broad lax black-chestnut 

 scales 1 in. long, hardening into woody creeping rhizomes. Stems 18-36 in., at 

 top -i in. in diam. with 3 concave faces. Leaves usually few, topmost 2-6 in. 

 erect, green, sword-shaped, shortly caudate. Umbel 2-6 in. in diam., simple com- 

 pound or congested ; bracts 3-5, up to 6 by ^ in., lowest usually erect (till fruit- 

 time). Spikes of 4-10 spikelets, rhachis glabrous. Spikelets %-$ by aV'iV m> 

 Glumes about J T in., very concave, in dry examples loosely imbricated. Stamens 

 3 ; anthers linear-oblong, not crested. Nut trigonous, becoming black ; style ^ 

 length of nut ; branches linear, slightly exsert. This perhaps from its short leaves 

 is more nearly allied to C. tegetiformis, Eoxb., bub differs in the very narrow wing 

 to rhachilla. Easily recognized, when dry, by the glumes (though closely packed) 

 being forced apart by their edges being crispidly incurved all round. Cyperus, 

 Rottb. Descr. et Ic. p. 40, t. 11, fig. 3, is adduced here by various authors; but 1 

 do not see how it differs from C. polystachyus, Rottb. (which may be anything except 

 Pycreus polystachyiis, Beauv.). 



37. C. pilosus, Vahl Enum. ii. 354; stolons slender, stems at top 

 acutely triquetrous, secondary umbels closely corymbed, rhachis of spikes 

 scabrous-pilose (or in form C. marginellus and var. y glabrous); spikelets 

 linear 10-20-fld., nut ellipsoid apiculate f length of gluine. Kunth Enum. 

 ii. 80; Stracliey Gat. PI. Kumaon, 74; Thw. Enum. 344; Boeck. in Linncea, 

 xxxv. 598 ; Duthie in E. T. Atkinson Gaz. x. 620 ; 0. B. Clarke in Journ. 

 Linn. 8oc. xxi. 148 and xxv. 81. C. paniculatus, D. Don Prodr. 39 (cf. 

 Spreng. Syst. Cur. Post. 29). C. Donianus, Dietr. Sp. PI.' ii. 290. C. 

 fimbriatus, Nees in Wig/it Contrib. 86 ; Kuntli 1. c. 100 ; W. Wats, in E. T. 

 Atkinson Gaz. x. 393. C. marginellus, Nees in Wight Contrib. 83 ; Kunth 

 1. c. 75. C. procerus, Roth. Catal. Bot. iii. 5 and Nov. PI. 8p. 35 ; Nees I. c. 

 83 (partly, not Rottb.). C. konestus, Kunth I. c. 74. C. venustus, Moritzi 

 Verz. Zoll. Pfl. 96 (not Br.}. C. subalatus, pauciflorus, and hebes, Steud. 

 Syn. Gyp. 31,34, 315. C piptolepis, Steud. in Zoll. Verz. Ind. Archip. ii. 

 63 and Syn. Gyp. 40. C. Heyneanus, Boeek. in Flora, xlii. 440 bis. C. 

 truncatus, Franch. et Savat. PL Jap. ii. 105 (not of Turcz). C. Griffithianus, 

 Boeck. in Linneea, xxxv. 601. C. Wallichii, Wight ms. (not Nees). Cyperus, 

 Wall. Cat. 3334, 3348, 3355 (partly). 



Throughout INDIA, alt. 0-5000 ft., abundant. DISTRIB. Trop. As., Afric., and 

 Austral. 



Glabrous, except the rhachis of spikes. Stolons scarcely J^.in.. diam., with 

 distant nodes and scales -| in. long, easily overlooked when young as roots, but 

 afterwards thickening somewhat into a wiry rhizome. Stems' from 3 ft. with umbel 

 16 in. across, to 4 in. with umbel reduced to 1 head. Leaves v oftenj>| length of stem, 

 -| ^ in. broad ; bracts overtopping umbel, leaf-like. Rhachis of spikes in most 

 examples definitely pilose, often only more or less scabrous subpilose, in the form 

 marginellus microscopically glabrous. Spikelets (commonly) f by ^ in., compressed, 

 reddish or brown or straw-colrd., close or remote, when ripe spreading at right 

 angles ; rhacheola obscurely (or not) winged. Grlumes ovate, muticous, scarcely 

 keeled, 3-7-nerved on back, ultimately loosely imbricated. Stamens 3 ; anthers 

 linear-oblong, muticous. Nut acutely trigonous, black; style shorter than nut; 

 branches linear, moderately exserted. Of all Cyperece this has proved the most 

 VOL. vi. B, r 



