132 Rhodora (Jury 
passed as Eriophorum, by Palla! Scirpus caespitosus is placed with 
Eriophorum alpinum in the genus Trichophorum. 
Limited as it was by Palla to Zrichophorum alpinum, Pers. ( Erio- 
phorum, L.) and 7. caespitosum, Schur. (Scirpus, L.) with barbless 
ligulate bristles, and 7. atrichum, Palla (Scirpus alpinus, Schleicher) 
without bristles, Zchophorum would have a strong morphological 
basis for separation from both Scirpus and Eriophorum. In eastern 
North America, however, there is a plant, Scirpus Clintonii, Gray, 
which, in habit, spikelets, chartaceous scales, the outermost deciduous 
and with the strong green costa prolonged into a mucro, is clearly to 
be placed with Zrichophorum alpinum, T. caespitosum, and T. atri- 
chum. This plant, in its spikelets is, in fact, more like Zrichophorum 
(Eriophorum) alpinum than that species is to 7. (Scirpus) caespi- 
tosum, but its perianth-bristles are not only terete but very freely 
setulose. In these characteristics Scirpus Clintonii is close to sS. 
pauciflorus, Lightf., a species which Palla very definitely excludes 
from Zrichophorum2 Thus Scirpus Clintonii combines to such an 
extent the morphological characteristics of Zrichophorum as inter- 
preted by Palla and Scirpus pauciflorus which Palla regards as a 
Scirpus as to indicate that the characters upon which Zrichophorum 
is maintained by him are not truly concomitant and that the genus is 
at best a subgenus of Scirpus, with close affinity to S. pauciflorus and 
S. nanus. 
The plant which led to this discussion, Eriophorum alpinum, L., 
is, then, a species of Scirpus rather than of Eriophorum in its limited 
sense; but as there is already a Scirpus alpinus, Schleicher, it has 
been necessary in transferring Eriophorum alpinum to use a specific 
name which shall not duplicate Schleicher’s already established com- 
bination, Scirpus alpinus. This was recently done by Ascherson and 
Graebner, and henceforth the densely caespitose Scirpus with elon- 
gate ligulate white bristles should be called S. Zrichophorum, Ascher- 
son & Graebner. 3 
In the paper already referred to, Palla maintains that Eriophorum 
! Bot. Zeit. liv. ab. 1, 145, 151 (1896). 
? ** Hier sie auf eine unrichtige Angabe Richter's in seinen * Plantae Europeae,' 
S. 139, aufmerksam gemacht. Richter führt unter den Synonymen des Scirpus 
paucifforus Lightf, ein Trichophorum pauciflorum Palla auf. Ein solches ist von 
mir nie aufgestellt worden.” — Palla, 1. c. 146. 
? Asch, & Graebn, Syn. ii. ab. 2, 302 (1903). 
