Fimhristylis.] CLXli. cypeRace.^. 157 
base. Leaves 3 to 8 in. long, rather stiff. Umbels compound, as 
long as 2 in. in strong plants, often contracted into a head. Bracts 
stiff, -25 to *5 in. long. vSpikelets numerous, -ii to *25 in. long, 
oblong, brown. Glumes ovate obtuse, margins pale, scarious, keel 
low, mucro short, red-brown. Nut two-thirds the length of the 
glume obovoid, smooth or slightly warty, yellow browm. Hab. 
Sands and rocks by the sea, common. Singapore, Tanjong Ru to 
Changi. Johor town, Malacca, Tanjong Kling. Pahang, Kwala 
Pahang; Cherating river. Lankawi, Burau bay (Ridley). Distrib. 
All warm regions. 
(15) F. argentea Vahl. Eniint. ii. 294; Clarke in Hook. fil. 
F.B.I. vi. 640; Ridl. Mat. iii. 94. Scirpus argenteus Rottb. Descr. 
and Ic. 51. t. 17, fig. 6. 
A small tufted plant 6 to 8 in. tall, the culm bases covered with 
sheaths. Leaves about half as long, narrow. Bracts linear, much 
longer than umbel. Umbel reduced to a head, -25 to *5 in. across. 
Spikelets sessile, 4 to 20, cylindric, -25 in. long, light brown, (jliimes 
narrow blunt, keeled, silver grey or reddish, keel green. Stamen 
I (or more). Nut very small, obovoid, biconvex, yellowish, smooth. 
Hab. Rare, Kelantan at Kamposa (Ridley). Distrib. India and 
Ceylon. 
(16) F. sericea R. Br. Prodr. 228; Clarke in Hook. fil. F.B.I. 
vi. 641; Ridl. Mat. iii. 94. 
Rhizome stout woody, descending or horizontal. Leaves 6 to 
9 in. long, -12 in. wide, silky, crowded. Culms 4 to 6 in. long, stiff. 
Umbel simple or compound, rays 3 in, long. Bracts short hairy. 
Spikelets crowded in heads on the ends of the rays, 4 to 6 together, 
•25 in. long, broad oblong. Glumes ovate, hairy, strongly keeled, 
brown, edges scarious. Nut one-third to one-fifth the length of 
the glume, obovoid, smooth. Hab. Sandy spots along the east 
coast from Johor to Kelantan. Johor, Jambu Larang (Feilding). 
Pahang River; Cherating River. Kelantan, Kamposa; Kwala 
Kelantan. Distrib. Indo-Malaya, Australia, China, Japan. 
(17) F. obtusata Ridl. F. tenera R. and Schultes Syst. II. 
Mant. 57. var. obtusata Clarke in Hook. fil. F.B.I. vi. 642; Ridl. 
Mat. iii. 94. 
Small tufted plant 4 to 7 in. tall, no rhizome. Leaves short, 
I to 2 in. long, -i in. wide, linear, blunt, spirally arranged. Culms 
very slender with a simple umbel of 3 or 4 spikelets, 2 or more on 
slender rays, i central, sessile. Bracts glume-like. Spikelets -12 
to *25 in. long, cylindric sub-acute. Glumes ovate, yellowish or 
reddish, keel stout, glabrous. Nut ovoid, half as long as the glume, 
yellow, tuberculate, hardly stalked. Hah. In grass plots, common 
in Singapore, Tanglin; Jurong. Pahang, Kwala Pahang. Malacca, 
Sungei Baru Ulu. Penang, Gardens (Nur); Telok Bahang (Curtis). 
Distrib. Bengal, Borneo. 
The broad leaves and verrucose nut distinguish this plant from F. tenera 
R. and S. 
