eriocaulaceæ

pl. [Mod. Lat. eriocau1(on), and Lat. fem. pl. adj. suff. -aceœ.] Bot .: An order of Endogens, alliance Glumales. It consists of perennial marsh plants with linear cellular spongy leaves sheathing at the base. Flowers in heads, bracteate, unisexual, very minute, glumes two, unilateral, or three; ovary superior, three or two-celled; seeds solitary, pendulous. About 200 species are known. Two-thirds occur in the tropics of America, and half the remainder in Australia. A feware in temperate America, and one in Britain. Eriocaulon setaceum , boiled in oil, is ased in India as a remedy for itch.