F. spathacea Roth, Nov. Pl. Spec.: 24. 1821; C.B.Clarke in Hook.f., l.c. 642; F. glomerata (Schrad.) Nees, fide Goetgheb. & Goudijzer, Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 54. 1984, Isolepis glomerata Schrad. in Roem. & Schult. 1824; Kral in Sida 4(2): Pl. 43a (as F. spathacea) 1971. K.M. Matthew, Fl. Tamilnadu Carnatic 4: Pl. 662. 1988.

Greyish green perennial, forming tight tufts, 10-20 cm. Stem rigid, terete to triangular, deeply grooved, smooth. Leaves less than half stem length; sheaths 1-2.5 cm, pale brown, lustrous, with wide scarious margins; blades 1-1.5 mm wide, stiff, slightly turgid, frequently falcate, involute or flat, margins barbed towards apex, apex short, frequently mucronate. Inflorescence compact or diffuse with elongate peduncles, of 10 or more solitary spikes, or, in compact inflorescences, spikes sessile and clustered; bracts usually short, margins scabrous; branches compressed or from triangular to terete. Spikes 2-5 x 1-2.5 mm, ovoid, more or less terete, greyish brown to brown; rachis articulate, castaneous brown, with prominent brown or colourless wings; glumes 1.8-2 x 1-1.2 mm, keeled, light brown, with green or pale mid-rib not reaching apex, margins widely scarious. Stamens 2; anthers 1.7-1.8 mm, with small basal lobes; style 1-1.2 mm, brown; stigmas 2 (or 3), ciliate, 0.4-0.5 mm. Nut c. 0.8 x 0.6 mm, ovoid, lenticular, slightly rugulose, dark brown.

Fl. Per.: October.

Type: "Littora Novae Hollandiae intra tropicum".

Along coasts of Indian ocean; Distribution: Probably pantropical.

F. cymosa is interpreted here collectively following Kern, in Fl. Malesiana (1974). The bulk of Malesian plants and specimens from our area also have, besides rather wide inflorescences, distigmatic flowers. Distigmatic plants were called by Kral (l.c., 1971) and Bhandari (Flora of the Indian Desert, 1990) F. spathacea (type - B. Heyne from India), which is in accordance with the protologue. Both F. cymosa and F. obtusifolia are, according to their protologue, tristigmatic.