1149

 Kyllinga nemoralis (J. R & G. Forst.)Dex Hutch.& Dalz.

 

Synonym	:	Cyperus kyllingia f. humilis (Boeckeler) Kük.
Family	:	CYPERACEAE
Local name	:	English -   Whitehead spikesedge
Flowering and fruiting period	:	July-November
Distribution	:	Pantropical
Distribution in kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Waste places, degraded forest areas and  grasslands
Uses	:	treat many diseases and disorders. Leaves of the plant are used as antivenom, relief of malarial chills, pruritus of the skin, thirst attributable to fever and diabetes.
Key Botanical Character: Erect, rhizomatous perennials; rhizome long-creeping covered with brown scales; culms triquetrous. Leaves many, 2-15 x 0.2-0.4 cm, linear, margins scabrid on the upper part; sheaths 1-3 cm long, purple-brown. Inflorescence a head of globose spikes, the central spike longer than the others, white; leafy bracts 3-4, exceeding the inflorescence, the lowest upto 14 cm long. Spikelets many, 2.5-3 x 1-1.5 mm, ovate-elliptic. Glumes distichous, 2-2.5 mm long, boat-shaped, keeled, lower 2 glumes smaller, empty. Stamens 3. Stigmas 2. Nut 1-1.5 mm long, obovate or oblong, biconvex, brownish