Fimbristylis umbellaris (Lamk) Vahl
Family
Cyperaceae
Synonyms
Scirpus umbellaris Lamk, Scirpus globulosus Retzius, Fimbristylis globulosa (Retzius) Kunth.
Vernacular Names
|
Malaysia |
Rumput sandang (Peninsular). |
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English |
Globular fimbristylis. |
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Indonesia |
Men dong (Javanese), jukut bubu-ut (Sundanese), werot (North Sulawesi). |
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Philippines |
Tikog (Bisaya, Cebuano), badang-badang (Ilokano), anahiunan (Manobo, Cebuano). |
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Thailand |
Phrong klom noi (Trang). |
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Vietnam |
C[or] qu[aw]m bloo]ng tr[of]n. |
Geographical Distributions
Fimbristylis umbellaris originates from Southeast Asia and is distributed from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to China, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Micronesia and Polynesia. In Southeast Asia, it occurs in Indo-China, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia (throughout), Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines (throughout) and New Guinea. It is cultivated in Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia (West Sumatra, Java, North Sulawesi) and the Philippines.
Description
Fimbristylis umbellaris is an erect, hairless and perennial herb, which can grow up to 120 cm tall, with a short horizontal rhizome clothed with brown scales and grows densely tufted in a clump. The stem is rigid, obtusely three-angled to nearly cylindrical, measuring 20-120(-200) cm x 1-5 mm (in cultivation, it reaches 2 m or taller), usually flattened below the inflorescence, striate, smooth and light green.
The leaves on the stem are reduced to bladeless, cylindrical, obliquely truncate sheaths with brown margins where the lower ones are scale-like, and 2-4 cm long, while the upper ones are up to 20 cm long. The leaves of sterile shoots are narrow and short, flat or channeled, about 1.5 mm wide and without ligule.
The inflorescence is usually a much reduced simple or compound umbel or open corymb, measures up to 10 cm long and with up to 40 spikelets. There are 2-3 basal involucral bracts which are erect, lance-shaped and measure up to 1 cm long. There are up to 10 primary rays which are unequal, measure up to 5 cm long and smooth. The spikelets are solitary, spherical, ovoid or ellipsoid, measuring 4-8(-12) mm x 3-4 mm, densely many-flowered and red-brown. The rachilla is persistent and narrowly winged while the glumes are spirally arranged and tightly imbricated, membranous, ovate, measure up to 2.5 mm x 1.5 mm, obtuse at base, with broadly white-membranous margins, rounded at apex and often torn and obscurely 2-3-veined on both sides of the ridged midrib which ends below the apex. The flowers are bisexual. There are 2-3 stamens about 1 mm long. The anthers are oblong-linear. The style is 1-2 mm long. It widens at the base, hairless, usually three-angled with 3 stigmas but sometimes flat with only 2 stigmas and articulated with the ovary (falling off as a whole).
The fruit is a nut-like, compressed-three-angled or biconvex achene, measuring 0.8-1 mm x 0.6-0.8 mm, finely warty and pale yellow when mature.
Ecology / Cultivation
Fimbristylis umbellaris grows well at an average temperature of 25-27°C with ample sunshine. It generally needs fertile soils with regular irrigation and grows well on soils rich in organic matter and on clay loams or sandy loams, with a pH of (4.5-)6-7(-8). It is sometimes grown in a ‘sawah’ (irrigated rice field) which is less suitable for rice cultivation, but more often it is planted in naturally wet locations, which are terraced like ‘sawahs’. In Tasikmalaya Regency, it is usually grown at 300-700 m altitude. F. umbellaris grows wild, frequently abundantly, in open, wet locations, such as swamps and grasslands, usually at low altitudes, rarely up to 1000 m. In Indonesia, F. umbellaris is considered a weed of minor importance in rice fields, where it can be controlled by chemical means.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.17: Fibre plants.
