Fimbristylis dichotoma (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Fimbristylis dichotoma (L.) Vahl

Family: Cyperaceae

Synonyms

• Fimbristylis annua auct., non (All.) Roem. & Schultes,
• F. diphylla (Retz.) Vahl,
• F. ramosii Kük.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: jukut mata munding (Sundanese), suket kodokan (Javanese), cikukok (Aceh)
• Malaysia: rumput purun batu, rumput parah, rumput kepala lalat (Peninsular)
• Papua New Guinea: balimbuli
• Philippines: tabtabin (general), baliotas (Bagobo), bubaging (Subanun)
• Laos: kh'ôm pa:w no:yz (Savannakhet)
• Thailand: ya-niunu (Chiang Mai)
• Vietnam: cỏ quăm nhân dôi.

Distribution

Pantropical.

Uses

Ploughed in as a green manure in rice fields. It is useful as a soil binder in erosion control. The leaves are used as a fodder. It is also used for matting but not preferred for that purpose.

Observations

• Annual or perennial herb with short rhizomes, forming large tussocks, up to 75(-100) cm tall.
• Leaves abruptly acuminate, 1.5-5 mm wide.
• Inflorescence simple to compound, up to 20 cm long.
• Spikelets ovoid to oblong-ovoid, 5-10(-20) mm × 2.5-3(-5) mm; glumes arranged spirally, glabrous or sometimes minutely ciliate apically, with a green keel and darker coloured sides; style with a dilated base, ciliate, stigmas 2.
• Fruit a usually smooth nut.

F. dichotoma is extremely variable. Annual forms have been accommodated in subsp. depauperata (R. Br.) Kern. It is a common weed of open locations, roadsides, tea and teak plantations, and dry rice fields, up to 1500(-2500) m altitude. It is sometimes troublesome and difficult to eradicate.

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941-1943 edition. 3 volumes. Technical Bulletin No 10. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines. 590, 513, 507 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.
• Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950-. Series 1. Volume 1, 4-. Kluwer, Dordrecht & Flora Malesiana Foundation, Leiden, the Netherlands.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, the Hague, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 261, 1450 pp.
• Smitinand, T., Larsen, K. & Hanssen, B. (Editors), 1970-. Flora of Thailand. Volume 2-. Danida, TISTR Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
• 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.

Authors

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