Fimbristylis schoenoides (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Fimbristylis schoenoides (Retz.) Vahl

Family: Cyperaceae

Synonyms

• Abildgaardia nervosa Presl,
• Fimbristylis bispicata Nees,
• F. longifolia S.T. Blake.

Vernacular names

• Philippines: gumi gumi (Tagalog)
• Thailand: ya-hangnu (Trat).
• Vietnam cỏ quăm quả cánh.

Distribution

East Africa (rare), India, Indo-China, Taiwan, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali and Nusa Tenggara), the Philippines, and tropical Australia; introduced into North America.

Uses

Ploughed in as a green manure in rice fields.

Observations

• Densely tufted, glabrous perennial plant with short rhizomes, up to 45 cm tall.
• Leaves abruptly acuminate, about 1 mm wide, greyish-green or glaucous, with sharp edges.
• Inflorescence consisting of a single terminal spikelet, or with 1-2 more peduncled spikelets.
• Spikelets many-flowered, 5-10 mm × 3-4 mm; glumes glabrous; stigmas 2.
• Fruit a smooth, distinctly stipitate nut.

F. schoenoides is locally common in open grassland and fallow rice fields, especially on permeable soils, up to 400 m altitude.

Selected sources

• 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.
• 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.

Authors

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