302 
mm. wide; spikes included in upper sheath, or more or less ex- 
serted, densely many-flowered, 5—20 cm. long, internodes of the 
scabrous rachis 2-5 mm. long; involucre consisting of I-2 rows 
of barbed spines as long as the spikelet, subtended by 1-2 rows of 
barbed bristles one-fourth to one-half as long; spikelet about 5 
mm. long, resting on the involucre and equaling its spines; 
glumes all more less short-pointed by the excurrent midnerve; 
ist glume hyaline, triangular, acute, about one-half as long as 
spikelet, I-nerved; 2d glume firm, ovate, acute, about three- 
fourths as long as spikelet, 5-nerved, sparingly scabrous; 3d 
glume as long as the fourth, firm, ovate, acute, strongly 5-nerved 
at apex; 4th glume chartaceous, ovate, acute, 5 mm. long, 
5-nerved at apex; palet of first flower from one-quarter to one-half 
as long as glume; palet of perfect flower equaling glume, strongly 
2-nerved and scabrous at apex. 
Ranges from Georgia (Elliott) to South Florida, western 
Texas and Mexico. 
Juncus scirpoides and its immediate Relatives. 
By FREDERICK VERNON COVILLE. 
In the year 1868 Dr. Engelmann grouped under /uncus scir- 
poides several closely related plants which, from the data now at 
hand, seem to require separation into four species. In 1880 Dr. 
Franz Buchenau described one of these as J. Engelmanni, and in 
1890 another as /. crassifolius. 1 am now convinced that still an- 
other should be separated specifically under the name of /. mega- 
cephalus, published sixty years ago by M. A. Curtis, of Wilming- 
ton, North Carolina. 
After examining the earlier literature of these plants it has 
been found necessary to change the current names of three species, 
in two cases substituting older names, and in one case supplying 
a newname. The first requirement for a proper disposition of 
the many published names was the positive identification of 
Michaux’s /. polycephalus, published in 1803, which, at different 
times, has been attached by various authors to nearly a dozen 
different plants, and has therefore fallen into disrepute and conse- 
quent disuse. With our present knowledge of the group, however, 
the name is capable of positive identification. The current dis- 
