Eriocaulon (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Eriocaulon L.

Family: Eriocaulaceae

Major species and synonyms

• Eriocaulon cinereum R. Br.

• Eriocaulon heterolepis Steud.

• Eriocaulon longifolium Nees

• Eriocaulon sexangulare L., synonym: E. wallichianum Martius

• Eriocaulon truncatum Buch.-Ham. ex Martius.

Vernacular names

• Pipewort (En)
• Indonesia: babawangan (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: rumput butang, rumput kumpai benang, rumput suasa (Peninsular)
• Philippines: dundunsug (Panay Bisaya), bauang-bauangan (Bikol), dasdasnuk (Bontok)
• Cambodia: smau tum hu:
• Laos: ho:m ka:w namz, (do:k) kata:yx, (do:k) kha:w, (do:k) hwà ngo:k
• Thailand: ya-phomhok (Chanthaburi), ya-hauhok (Trang)
• Vietnam: chi cỏ dùi trống

Distribution

Eriocaulon occurs in the tropics and subtropics of both hemispheres; the species mentioned are present throughout tropical and subtropical Asia.

Uses

Ploughed in as a green manure in rice fields.

Observations

• Tufted, monoecious, sedge-like herbs.
• Leaves in a basal rosette or rarely closely spaced along the stem, linear.
• Inflorescence capitate, on axillary, leafless, ribbed stalk often overtopping the leaves.
• Flowers minute, unisexual, each in the axil of a bract, 2-3-merous; sepals free or connate, often with characteristic shape, hirsute.
• Fruit a dehiscent capsule.

Pipeworts are common in open moist to wet sites, some species are found typically in the lowland, others are confined to montane habitats up to at least 2000 m altitude. The species are difficult to identify and the name Eriocaulon sexangulare has often been misapplied to other species.

Selected sources

• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr., R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. 647, 641, 761 pp.
• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd Edition. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.
• Merrill, E.D., 1923-1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants. 3 volumes. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines. 2136 pp.
• Moldenke, H.N., 1971. A fifth summary of the Verbenaceae, Avicenniaceae, Stilbaceae, Dicrastylidaceae, Symphoremaceae, Nyctanthaceae, and Eriocaulaceae of the world as to valid taxa, geographic distribution, and synonymy. 2 volumes. Braun-Brumfield, Ann Arbor, United States. 974 pp.
• Ridley, H.N., 1922-1925. The flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 volumes. L. Reeve & Co., London, United Kingdom.
• Satake, Y., 1974. Eriocaulon of Thailand. Acta Phytotaxonomica et Geobotanica 26: 41-51.
• Smitinand, T., 1980. Thai plant names. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. 379 pp.
• Soerjani, M., Kostermans, A.J.G.H. & Tjitrosoepomo, G., 1987. Weeds of rice in Indonesia. Balai Pustaka, Jakarta, Indonesia. 716 pp.
• Vidal, J., 1962. Noms vernaculaires de plantes en usage au Laos [Vernacular names of plants used in Laos]. Extrait du Bulletin de l'Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient 49, fasc. 2. 197 pp.
• Wealth of India (various editors), 1948-1976. A dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products: raw materials. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India. 4441 pp.

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen