Mondong bulrush (Schoenoplectus litoralis)

Mondong bulrush (Schoenoplectus litoralis) is a species of plant in the Cyperaceae, a perennial, highly variable grass, erect, about 2.5 meters high, clumps of sturdy stems, green, triangular in shape with concave sides and finely serrated side margins.

S. litoralis has sheath leaves and is green to brown in color. Inflorescences appear at the top of the stem in a branching stalk. Flowers are grain-shaped and brown.

Mondong bullrush grows in wetlands, marshes, ditches, ponds, lake shores, often dominant. Sometimes also in flooded rice fields, lowland rice fields, and tidal rice fields.

The stems are used for making mats, sacks of rice and also for coffers. The stems are harvested, sorted and dried in the sun and softened. The rods are also used as ropes in shops and traditional markets.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Subfamily: Cyperoideae
Tribe: Fuireneae
Genus: Schoenoplectus
Species: Schoenoplectus litoralis

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