^50 CLXII. CYPERACE^. [Mariscus. 
long, “3 in. across. Umbel compound, 8 to 12 in. across or more, rays 
I to 6 in. long. Spikelets in globose stellate heads, dark red (rarely 
pale), narrow linear, *25 to -5 in. long. Glumes 4 to 8, narrow 
lanceolate, keeled. Nut narrow linear, curved, beaked. Hah, 
Common near the sea, or rivers, or in damp waste ground. Singa¬ 
pore (Wallich); Galang. Johor, Batu Pahat. Pahang, Pekan. 
Malacca (Griffith). Selangor, Kwala Lumpur. Perak, Teluk Anson. 
Penang, Waterfall (Curtis). Legeh, Tomoh (Machado). Kelantan, 
Kamposa. Disirib. Indo-Malaya to Philippines. 
5 . ELEOCHARIS, R. Br. 
Glabrous plants, leafless. Culms simple erect with no nodes but 
sometimes septate with partitions in the pith. Leaf-sheaths cylin- 
dric, truncate or with a small tooth. Spikelet solitary terminal, 
erect. Glumes obtuse, imbricate all round. Stamens i to 3. 
Styles linear, branches 2 or 3, base dilate, constricted on the nut, 
persistent. Hypogynous bristles 5 to 8. Nut obovoid plano¬ 
convex when style has 2, trigonous when it has 3, branches. Species 
113, whole world. 
Culms tall septate. 
Culms stout, 18 to 26 in. tall 
Culms slender, 12 to 15 in. tall 
Culms not septate. 
Culms tall terete 
Culms triquetrous 
Culms very slender. 
Spikelet cylindric . 
Spikelet sub-globose 
Culm setaceous, very short 
. (i) E. plantaginea 
• (2) E. equisetina 
. (3) E. variegata 
. U) E. fistulosa 
. (5) E. ochrostachys 
. ( 6 ) E. capitata 
. (7) E. cheetaria 
(1) E. plantaginea Br. Prodr. 224; Clarke in Hook. fil. F.B.I. 
vi. 625; Ridl. Mat. hi. 75. 
Rhizome stout, culms 18 to 24 in. tall, rather stout, transversely 
septate when dry, terete. Spikelet cylindric, not wider than the 
stem, 75 to I in. long. Glumes oblong rounded, straw colour, 
keel green. Style bi- or tri-fid. Nut half as long as glume or 
less, obovate, yellow. Bristles longer, scabrid. Hab. Grassy swamps 
and rice-fields. Not very common, Singapore, Reservoir; Garden 
Lake. Malacca, Ayer Panas; Chabau. Distrib. Tropics of Old World. 
(2) E. equisetina Presl. Rel. Hmnk, i. 195; Clarke in Hook. fil. 
F.B.I. vi. 625; Ridl. Mat. hi. 75. 
Rhizome slender. Culms rather slender, 12 to 15 in. tall, 
septate. Spikelet wider than cylindric sub-acute, -25 to -5 in. 
long, straw colour. Glumes broad rounded, not keeled. Style 
bifid. Nut obovoid, white. Hab. Wet places, chiefly in the north. 
Penang, Waterfall quarry. Tringganu (Yapp). Perils, Kanga. 
Setul, extremely abundant in a marsh at the foot of Bukit Rajah 
Wang. Disirib. Ceylon, Malay islands. 
This species is allied to E. plantaginea, but is much more slender. 
