CYPERACEAE. 21$ 



aceous bract which often overtops the culm; perigynia 2-3 mm. long 1 . N. Mich, to 

 Br. Col. and Ore., south in the Rocky Mts. to Colo. 



I28a. Carex albicans Willd. WHITISH SEDGE. Stolon iferous, pale green; 

 culms 0.7-5 dm. tall. Leaves usually shorter than the culm. 23 mm. wide, flat; 

 bracts very short; staminate spike lesb than, 6 mm. long, sessile; pistillate spikes 2 

 or 3. clustered, ovoid, about as long as the staminate; perigynia ellipsoid, 

 3-angled, pubescent, the short beak 2-toothed; scales acute or cuspidate, shorter 

 than the perigynia. In dry soil, N. E. and N. Y. May-June. 



129. Carex praecox Jacq. VERNAL SEDGE. (I. F. f. 709-) Dark green, 

 stoloniferous; culms slender, smooth, 7-30 cm. long. Leaves 1-3 mm. wide, 

 almost always much shorter than the culm; lower bract 6-25 mm. long; staminate 

 spike usually large and conspicuous; pistillate spikes 1-3, all close together, 

 oblong, 6-12 mm. long; perigynia oblong or obovoid, sharply 3-angled, pubescent, 

 brown, about 2 mm. long; tipped with a minute beak; scales ovate, purple-brown 

 with a lighter midvein, acute, cuspidate or the lower rough-awned, about equalling 

 the perigynia. E. Mass, to N. Y. Nat. from Europe. Native also of Asia. 

 May- June. 



130. Carex nigro-marginata Schwein. BLACK-EDGED SEDGE. (I. F. f. 

 800.) Bright green, stoloniferous; culms filiform, 5-20 cm. long. Leaves 2-4 

 mm. wide, mucli longer than the culms, rather stiff; bracts short and subulate or 

 wanting; staminate spike sessile, 4-6 mm. long; pistillate spikes 13, sessile, about 

 6 mm. long; perigynia oblong, narrowed at the base into a short stipe, pubescent 

 or nearly glabrous, 2-3 mm. long, with a cylindric-subulate 2-toothed beak one- 

 third to one-half as long the body; scales acute or cuspidate, green with purple 

 margins or variegated, rather longer than the perigynia. Dry soil, N. Y. to N. 

 Car. May-July. 



131. Carex umbellata Schk. UMBEL-LIKE SEDGE. (I. F. f. 801.) Rather 

 light green, tufted and matted, stoloniferous; culrns filiform, 5-15 cm. long. 

 Leaves 1-3 mm. wide, usually much exceeding the culms, the old sheaths fibrillose; 

 staminate spike commonly conspicuous; pistillate spikes 1-3, filiform-stalked from 

 the basal sheaths or I or 2 of them sessile or very nearly so at the base of the 

 staminate, ovoid-oblong, 4-8 mm. long; perigynia oval, pul>escent. 3-angled, the 

 lx)dy rather less than 2 mm. long, tipped with a subulate 2-toothed beak of nearly 

 its length; scales acuminate or short-awned, about as long as the perigynia. Dry 

 soil, N. S. to the N. W. Terr., N. J., the Ind. Terr, and Ore. May-July- 



132. Carex pubescens Muhl. PUBESCENT SEDGE. (I. F. f. 802.) Pubescent 

 all over, bright green, stoloniferous; culms 3-6 dm. long. Leaves flat, soft, elon- 

 gated, 47 mm. wide ; lower bracts 2-8 cm. long; staminate spike sessile or nearly 

 so ; pistillate spikes 24, oblong-cylindric, 8-20 mm. long, the upper sessile ; 

 perigy-nia 3-angled, obovoid, narrowed to a stipe-like base, densely pubescent, and, 

 including the subulate minutely 2-toothed beak, about 4 mm. long ; scales ovate, 

 rough-awned or cuspidate, about as long as the perigynia. In woods and thickets, 

 N. S. to N. Dak., N. J., Ky. and Mo. June-Aug. 



Leaves 2-5 cm. wide, thick, spreading. PHYSOCEPHALAE. 133. C. Frasert. 



Leaves 0.5-6 mm. wide. 



Staminate and pistillate spikes on different culms. SCIRPINAE. 



Leaves longer than the culm; perigynia obovoid; southern species. 



134. C. picta. 

 Leaves shorter than the culm ; perigynia oval ; northern species. 



135. C. scirpoidea. 

 Staminate and pistillate flowers in the same spike. 



Scales of the spike leaf-like, elongated. PHYLLOSTACHYAE. 



Lower scales 2 mm. wide or less, not enclosing the perigynia. 



Body of the perigynium oblong, its beak flattened. 136. C. Willdenovii. 

 Body of the perigynium globose, its beak subulate. 137. C. Jamesii. 

 Lower scales 2-5 mm. wide enclosing the perigynia. 138. C. durifolia. 

 Scales of the spike short, normal. 



Leaves 1-2 mm. wide ; arctic and western species. RUPESTRES. 

 Spike solitary, androgynous ; perigynium-beak stout, long. 



139. C. rupestris. 

 Spikes 2-4, the staminate uppermost ; perigynium-beak short. 



140. C. supina. 



