CXII. CYPERACEiE 
565 
all basal. Spikelets J in., in heads of usually 2-4. Bracts |-1 in., 
leaf -like. Glumes abruptly narrowed into a long, recurved, tail-like 
tip. Bristles none. Stamen 1, sometimes 2. Style 3-branchcd. 
Nut 3-sided. 
N. India, ascending to 6000 ft. — Tropical Asia, Africa. 
9. ERIOPHORUM. From the Greek erion, wool, and phero, to 
bear ; referring to the fruit. — Europe, temperate Asia, N. America. 
Eriophorum comosum, Wall. ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 664. A glabrous 
herb ; stems tufted, 4-20 in., erect, slender, leafy only near the 
base. Leaves numerous, linear, often overtopping the stem, 
rough, edges minutely toothed. Spikelets numerous, J-J in. , brown, 
narrowly ovoid, mostly solitary on the rays of a compound umbel 
2-8 in. diam. Bracts longer thhn the umbel. Glumes many, 
spirally imbricate, acute, the lower 1 or 2 empty, the others all 
containing a 2-sexual flower. Bristles 6, longer than the glume, 
divided into numerous, linear, flat segments elongating in fruit, 
when they form a tangle of glistening, white hairs at the tip of the 
spikelets. Stamens 3, anthers red-pointed. Style shorter than 
the nut, 3-branched. Nut slender, 3-sided, pointed. 
Simla, common on dry hill- sides ; August- October. — Throughout India, 
ascending to 10,000 ft. — China. 
This plant is often confused with the Rhabar grass, Ischcemum angusti folium, 
which is very woolly at the base of the stem. 
E. polystachion is common in bogs in Britain and is known as Cotton-grass. 
* 
10. LIPOCARPHA. From the Greek leipo , to let go, release, 
and carpe, a glume, referring to the glumes soon falling off. — Most 
warm regions. 
*Lipocarpha argentea, B. Br. ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 667. A gla- 
brous herb ; stems erect, 6-24 in., obtusely 3-sided, leafy only 
near the base. Leaves long or short, | in. broad or less. Spikelets 
in., ovoid, in a single terminal cluster of 3-8. Bracts \-2 in. 
Glumes many, crowded, membranous, obovate, imbricated all 
round the axis, each containing a 2-sexual flower, the uppermost 
soon withering. Scales 2, thin, transparent, nearly twice as long 
as the nut, narrowly oblong. Stamens 3. Nut obscurely 3-sided, 
oblong-ovoid. Style 3-branched, base not swollen. 
W. Himalaya, on grassy hill-sides up to 6000 ft. — Tropical and subtropical 
regions of the Old World. 
11. KOBRESIA. In honour of Von Kobres, a collector of 
objects of natural history, whose collections were purchased by 
Ludwig, King of Bavaria, in 1811. — N. temperate regions, chiefly 
at high levels. 
Kobresia filicina, C, B, Clarke ; FI, Br. Ind, vi, 696. A glabrous, 
