ne as
tikug and grows to a height of 60 cm. The flowers sometimes occur in
a solitary cluster, but more often from 2 to 5 clusters of spikelets
are found on the side of the stalk near its top. The plant is widely
distributed in the Philippines and inhabits open grass lands. It bears
some flowers throughout the year. As yet only coarse mats are made
from it, but its general appearance would warrant experiments along
the lines of the processes by which tikug is treated. The only native
names noted are "tayoc-tayoc" and "tikug" by which names the plant is
known in Occidental Negros. These names, however, are more properly
applied to other plants. Scirpus mucronatus is somewhat like S. erectus
in general appearance. The stem of S. mucronatus is more robust and
coarser in texture and attains a height of 80 cm. Its dried stem has
an average width of 4 to 5 mm., while that of S. erectus measures
from 2 to 3 mm. The flowers of S. mucronatus appear in a very dense
head on the side of the plant from 2 to 9 cm. from the top. Each head
is made up of from 5 to 20 spikelets. These spikelets are from 6 to
15 mm. long, while those of S. erectus are never more than 1 cm. in
length. The coarser stalk of S. mucronatus makes it a less desirable
mat material than S. erectus. In the Ilocos provinces a very coarse
round sedge called tiker (Scirpus lacustris) occurs. It may be of value
if split and dried in the sun so that it curls up into a round straw.

The genus Cyperus includes a number of economic plants, among them
the Chinese matting sedge. The species most used in the Philippines
is C. malaccensis. This plant has an underground stem which, as it
continues its growth, sends out new stalks. The plant lives for
a number of years and when fully grown is from 0.5 to 1.5 meters
high. The stem is stout and three-sided in shape. It has few or no
leaves, and when present the leaves are not more than 3 cm. long. From
2 to 5 leaf-like stems (bracts) not more than 20 cm. long occur under
the inflorescence. The spikelets which make up the inflorescence
are somewhat crowded together; they are very narrow, from 1 to 2
cm. long. The plant occurs in the Philippines in brackish swamps
and along tidal streams. It is also found in tropical Africa, Asia,
the islands of Polynesia, and Australia. It is usually in flower
from July to December. It was formerly made into mats and hats and
is even now utilized in rare instances in weaving them, but it is
most i