Fimbristylis cymosa var. spathacea (Roth) T. Koyama

Fimbristylis spathacea Roth, Nov. PI. Sp. 24. 1821
Scirpus glomeratus Retz. Obs. 4: 11. 1786. (India.) Not 5". glomeratus L. 1753.
? Scirpus obtusifolius Lam. Tab. Encyc. 1: 141. 1791. (India.) Scirpus obtusifolius Vahl, Enum. 2 : 275. 1805.
? Isolepis obtusifolia Beauv. Fl. Oware 2 : 38. 1812. Fimbristylis obtusifolia Kunth, Enum. PI. 2 : 240. 1837.
Scirpus obtusifolius Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 571. 1864. Probably not S. obtusifolius Lam. 1791. Fimbristylis Sintenisii Bock. Bot. Jahrb. 7: 276. 1886. (Puerto Rico.) Fimbristylis glomerata Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 166. 1900. (Brazil.) Not F. glomerata Nees,
1834. Fimbristylis melanospora Fernald, Proc. Am. Acad. 36: 491. 1901. (Mexico.)
Perennial; culms tufted, stiff, erect, subterete, 1-1.5 mm. wide, 1-4 dm. high; leaves flat, much shorter than the culm, concave, 1-3 mm. wide, green to dull brown, the apex blunt to mucronate ; involucre usually shorter than the small, dense, compound umbel ; spikelets ellipsoid to short-cylindric, 3-6 mm. long; scales ovate, light to dark brown, 1.5 mm. long, broadly keeled with a flattened hyaline margin ; achenes lenticular, obovate, 0.8 mm. long, yellow, becoming purplish-black at maturity, the rugose surface minutely reticulate ; style 0.5 mm. long below the bifurcation, scarcely flattened and not at all fimbriate ; stamens 1 or
2, the anthers 0.6 mm. long.
Type locality : India.
Distribution: Moist or wet soil at low elevations: West Indies; Mexico; Central America; South America ; Old World tropics.