The Moro pandan mats are the most richly colored of all those produced in the Philippines. At this writing, information is not at hand to determine the method of preparing the straw or the species of pandan from which they are made. Mats which have been exhibited at successive Philippine expositions have undoubtedly been dyed with imported coloring matter. The designs are of the general effect of the mat reproduced on page 84. The colors are often well combined and the effect is very striking. The Cottabato mats are double; the under portion is woven of thick, heavy, uncolored straw, and the upper portion is of finer material; the two parts are spliced together.
Sedge Straws.
Kinds of Sedges.
Botanical.
The sedges which form the family of Cyperaceae are grass-like or rush-like herbs, with solid, jointless, usually triangular stems, while the grasses (Gramineae) are mostly herbs, usually with hollow stems closed and enlarged at the nodes. The former play an important part in the manufacture of mats because of their length and freedom from nodes. The family includes several genera of importance; viz., Scirpus, Cyperus, and Fimbristylis.
Plate XLVIII. Scirpus erectus.
Of these the Fimbristylis is the most important, for two species of Fimbristylis have a fairly large commercial use; they are therefore taken up separately.
Of the genus Scirpus, the species S. grossus, known as “balangot” in Ambos Camarines and Capiz, “bagaas” in Occidental Negros, “tiquio” in Rizal, and “bagui-bagui” in Capiz, and S. erectus, are used for mats. S. grossus is not a very suitable material for industrial purposes, its distinctly three-cornered stalk being too coarse in texture and too large to permit of weaving even a fair grade article. S. erectus is much better. The stalk is about as fine 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.