626 CLxxii. CYPEBACEiB. (0. B. Clarke.) [Eleocharis. 



feet). S. tumidus, Soxb. I. c. Limnochloa ^lantagiuea and jsTimida, Nees 

 in Wight Contrib. 114. Heleocliaris plantaginea, Boeck. in Zinnsea, x xxvi. 

 474 in small part. Eleocharis, Wall. Gat. 3454 {except B). 



Prom SiND, Sahaeuhpoee and Assam to Cetlod and the Malay Penin suia. 

 — DiSTElB. Tropics of Old World. 



Stolons long, iin. diam. Stems 1-3 ft., i-i in. diam. ; slender (Sc. plantagi- 

 neus, Koxb.), or stout (Sc. tumidus, Boxb.) ; sheaths membianons, soon torn. Spi&e- 

 let i-li by i-J in. (in some Madagascar examples 3i in. long). Q-himes \ in., 

 suberect, densely packed, obovate, with numerous striations on the back ; 1-3 

 lowest empty persistent, lowest stouter appearing as though a continuation of the 

 stem. Bristles 7, equalling or exceeding the nut, retrorsely scabrous, yellow-brown. 

 Nut rather large, i-^ of glume, biconvex or obscurely trigonous ; style-base de- 

 pressed conic, brown-black. The American plants referred to plantaginea by 

 Boeckeler are very distinct {S. interstincta, Br.) (see Benth. Fl. Austral, vii. 292). 



2. E. equisetina, Presl. Bel. Hxnh. i. 195; stems slender terete 

 transversely septate when dry, spikelet fuscous straw-colrd. wider than 

 the stem, style 2-fid. 



Cetion; Walker, ThwaUes (C.P. 3777).— Distbib. N. Caledonia, Philippines. 



Stems 1 foot, -}^-^ in. diam. ; uppermost sheath close-fitting, firm, terminated 

 on one side by an oblong-triangular tooth. Nut obovoid, somewhat narrowed 

 triangularly at top. — Perhaps a var. of B. plantaginea ; I cannot distinguish the 

 Ceylon from the Philippine examples. 



** Nut reticulate or trabeculate. Style 3-Jid, rarely 2-fid. 



3. E. varleffataj Kunth Enum. ii. 153; stems robust nearly 

 terete not transveraely septate, glumes suberect laxly imbricate red- 

 brown near their margin, bristles 7 retrorse scabrous about as long as the 

 cancellate nut. Heleocharis variegata, Boeck. in LinncBa, xxxvi. 470. — 

 Mascarene Isles. 



Var. laxifiora, stems more slender, subtrigonons under narrower spikelet, glumes 

 fuscous green not red brown near margin, bristles longer than finely trabeculate 

 nut. Scirpus laxiflorus, Thw. Mnum. 435. — Eleocharis, Wall. Cat. 3454, B 

 {partly). 



Assam ; Simons. Siihet ; J. D. Hoofeer. Cetlon; Thwaites, Malax Penin- 

 sula, frequent to SiNaAPOEE, Eurz. — Distrib. Malaya, China, Polynesia. 



Stems 8-16 in. ; uppermost sheath membranous, on one side ovate, subacute at top. 

 Spikelet nearly 1 by J in. Glumes \ in., lowest as though a continuation of the 

 stem, persistent. Style 3-fid, or sometimes 2-fid. Nut slightly narrowed at apex, 

 style-base conic ; outer cells transversely oblong, small, superposed in 30-40 vertical 

 series, the nut appearing longitudinally 30-i0-st»iate. 



4. E. ochroBtachys, SteuA. Syn. Gyp. 80 {not of Boeck.) ; stems 

 slender nearly terete not transversely septate many barren intermixed, 

 spikelet slender scarcely broader than the stem, glumes suberect laxly 

 imbricate dusky green, style 3-fid. Heleocharis subulata, Boeck. in Flora, 

 xli. 412. 



Malacca ; Griffith. Sinqapoee ; Ridley.— Disirib. Java, Borneo. 



Stems 8 by -^5-^ ™- Spikelet less than 4 in. — This does not differ much from 

 very slender examples of S. variegata, var. Ittxiflora, except by the numerous barren 

 stems. 



5. E. flstulosa, Schultes in Boem. & Sell. Syst. ii. Mant. 89 ; stems 

 robust not transversely septate triquetrous under the spikelet, spikelet 



