Ochlandra.'] Graminece. 319 



Var. maculata, Gamble, I. c. 124. 



Stem greyish-green, banded and blotched with dark purple Fl. B. 

 Ind. 1. c. Temostachyum (?) maculatum, Trim, in Journ. Bot. xxiii. 

 (1885), 273. 



Southern Provinces, in the low country; common. Covering hundreds 

 of square miles. Flowers annually. Var. maculata, Ambagamuwa, 

 Rewanwette, and districts S. of Adam's Peak (Ferguson). 



Endemic. 



Moon's specific name is derived from the stems when trodden on 

 breaking with a crackling noise, warning game of the hunter's approach. 

 Stems extensively used for fences, roofs of huts, and leaves for thatching 

 (Ferguson). According to Thwaites, var. maculata loses its purple colour 

 under cultivation, and does not flower. 



