26 GRASSES AND SEDGES OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



rhizome. A large tract covered with the plant in fruit looks 

 from a distance as if it were covered with snow. It seems 

 to prefer hot and dry places, but dislikes wet or very sandy 

 soil. In the first, its place is taken by Scleria malaccensis 

 and other such plants, in the latter by Bracken (Fteris aqui- 

 Una, L.) or Gleichenia. It is a grass of very little use, as 

 cattle and horses do not care for it on account of its hard- 

 ness. Pigs, however, are very fond of the young shoots. 

 Attempts have been made to use it for paper making, but 

 without much success, and a kind of beer is sometimes made 

 from the rhizomes. The plumed seeds are sometimes used 

 to stuff pillows. It is very common in Singapore, Johor, 

 Penang, Malacca, Province Wellesley and Selangor, but 

 seems to be rarer in the less cultivated districts, and notably 

 in Tringganu, Pahang and Kelantan. 



SACCHARUM. 



S. arundinaceum, Eetz. River banks. Local. A very ornamental 

 grass. In good wet localities it grows to a height of 12 feet 

 or more, with very large panicles of flowers. 

 Selangor — Kwala Lumpur near the Caves. 

 Pahang — Ayer Etam near Pekan, forming large thickets. 

 8. officinarum, L. Sugar-cane is cultivated chiefly in Province 



Wellesley and Perak. 

 S. Ridleyi, Hackel. Banks of the river at Pekan and for some way 

 up above, forming large tufts and covering a large tract of 

 flat country on the right bank. It has narrow leaves and 

 tall spikes of purple flowers. Professor Hackel remarks 

 that it is a very interesting plant belonging to the section 

 Miscanthus, of which only one species (S. fuscum, GrrifL), 

 an Indian plant, was previously known. 

 RoUinia ciliata, Linn. Forming large clumps on the river bank. 

 Rare. 

 Pahang — At Renchong above Pekan. 

 P. Ridleyi, Hackel. On sandy shores very close to the sea. Rare, 

 but plentiful where it occurs. 

 Pahang — Rumpin River, Sungei Meang. 

 Allied to P. Cumingiana, Steud., a Philippines plant. 

 POGONATHERTJM. 

 P. polystachya, R. Br. Often cultivated in Singapore as a pot plant. 

 Not common. 

 Penang — Rocks by the Waterfall. 



