Scleria biflora (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Scleria biflora Roxburgh

Family: Cyperaceae

Synonyms

• Scleria tessellata (non Willd.) Nees.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: ilat lalab (West Java)
• Philippines: katabod (Tagalog)
• Vietnam: cương hai hoa.

Distribution

From India to southern China and the Ryukyu Islands, throughout South-East Asia, but not in the Moluccas and New Guinea.

Uses

In Java very young plants are eaten as vegetable, raw or steamed, often mixed with other vegetables.

Observations

• Annual, tillering, erect herb, up to 1 m tall.
• Leaves linear, 5-25 cm × 0.3-0.7 cm.
• Fruit a white nut, globose, 2 mm in diameter, deeply regularly cancellate and pitted, black tipped.

The red roots smell strongly of camphor. In swampy localities up to 600 m altitude.

Selected sources

7, 66, 91.