Plate XLIX. Tiker (Scirpus lacustris).
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 important as a material for slippers, and possibly for matting.
Of the 125 species of Fimbristylis found only in warm regions, two are of economic importance in the Philippines, while one more might perhaps be tried out as a mat material. All the species of Fimbristylis have tufted, fibrous or woody stems. The leaves occur near the base. The inflorescence consists of a great number of flowers grouped closely together to form one or more spikelets. The spikelets themselves may be either solitary or clustered. The individual flowers are covered by glumes and are arranged spirally on the axis. As the fruit matures, the glumes of the flowers become the “chaff” of the grain.
Tikug.
Plate L. Tikug.
This sedge (Fimbristylis utilis) grows usually more than a meter long and has tufted stems which are shiny and smooth in appearance and average about 4 mm. in diameter. The stems may have long leaves at the base or may be entirely leafless, and are usually four- or five-sided immediately under the inflorescence. The general appearance of the stalk is round. The plant has few or no underground root-like stems. The flowers are densely clustered together to form spikelets, dusky brown in color, measuring 6 mm. by 3 mm. In the Visayas it is generally known as tikug. In Agusan and Surigao it is called “anahiwan” and in Bukidnon “sudsud”. Sometimes it is called tayoc-tayoc in confusion with the smaller sedge more properly known by that name, which much resembles tikug. A specimen from Pampanga was labeled “muta”.
Tikug grows in greatest profusion and reaches its highest economic importance in parts of Mindanao, Bohol, Leyte, and Samar. To a less degree, it is found and utilized on Negros and Panay. While it is found in Cebu, it is not used there. As a recognized industrial plant, therefore, its distribution is confined to the Visayas and Mindanao. Its appearance in Pampanga would indicate that it may be found in other regions in which its value in hand-weaving and in the making of matting is not understood.[20]
Tikug is utilized in making hats, mats, matting, slippers and various minor articles.