Cyperus.] Cyperacece. 2 7 



Perennial ; rootstock creeping, covered with ovate tri- 

 angular scales, giving off solitary or tufted, stout or slender 

 trigonous or triquetrous, often compressed stems 6-24 in. high ; 

 1. shorter than the stem, ^ in. broad, biconvex, acute, erect, 

 sometimes very short and subulate; umbel simple or com- 

 pound, of 4-12 slender spreading very unequal rays up to 

 3 in. long, secondary rays bearing 6-60 or more slender 

 stellately spreading spikelets ; bracts 2-3, very variable, 

 narrow and much shorter than the rays, or broader than the 

 1. and 3 in. long; spikelets linear, acute, \-\ by about -^0 in., 

 flat, 10-40-fld., pale or chestnut-brown, rhachilla narrow, 

 winged ; glumes closely or loosely imbricate, ovate, obtuse or 

 mucronate by the excurrent midrib, dorsally rounded, 

 obscurely veined ; stam. 2-3, anth. linear-oblong, tip minutely 

 bristly; nut minute, \ the length of the glume, on a globose 

 stipes, globosely obovoid, trigonous, smooth or scaberulous, 

 pale brown (imperfect white globose nuts occur), style longer 

 than the nut, stigmas 3, capillary. 



Wet places, especially paddy fields; very common. Fl. Dec-April, 

 &c. 



All hot countries. 



C. P. 965 is a very tall form, with compound umbels and large 

 spikelets. This species and C.flavidus are remarkable for the globose 

 stipes of the nut. 



20. C. flavidus, Retz. Obs. v. 13 (1789). 

 Trim. Syst. Cat. Ceyl. PI. 100. C. P. 805. 



Fl. B. Ind. vi. 600. Rottb. Ic. t. 6, f. 2 (C. Haspan). 



Annual; stems tufted, 6-18 in., stout or slender, trigonous, 

 soft ; 1. shorter than the stem, erect, narrowly linear, T V-| in- 

 broad, flat, i-veined; umbel compound or decompound, rays 

 many, spreading, primary 1-3 in., secondary ^-1 in., bearing 

 heads of stellately spreading minute spikelets ; bracts 2-3, 

 one or two up to 6 in. long, bracteoles o; spikelets iV~f by 

 aV in., lanceolate, 8-30-fld., greenish-brown, rhachilla stout, 

 not winged ; glumes loosely imbricate, orbicular, hyaline with 

 a broad, green, triangular, obscurely 3-veined central area ; 

 stam. 1, rarely 2, anth. linear, muticous ; nut minute, not \ 

 the length of the glume, shortly stoutly stipitate, globosely 

 obovoid, trigonous, white or marbled with white, style as long 

 as the nut, stigmas 3, capillary. 



In paddy fields, &c, in the low country ; very common. 

 Throughout warm regions of the Old World. 

 Not distinguished from C. Haspan by Thwaites. 



21. C. pulcherrimus, Willd. in Kunth, Enum. ii. 35 (1837). 

 C. silletensis, Thw. Enum. 343 (non Nees). C. P. 3558. 



Fl. B. Ind. vi. 600. 



