380 ORDER 154. CYPERACE^E. 



160 C. longirostris Torn 3 Spikes mostly 3; ? mostly 3, cylindric, 1', loose, 

 stalks filiform, recurved ; perigynia roundish, the very slender beak S. toothed, 

 longer than the scarious glumes. 2f. Rocky woods, North. 



167 C. aristata R. Br. $ Spikes 2, very slender, remote ; $ 2 4, cylindric, 1 2', 

 erect ; perigynia lanceolate, conspicuously nerved, glabrous, 2-awned ; glumes 

 awned, much shorter. 2f. Shores, N. Y., West and North. Akin to No. 151. 



1 68 C Scliweiiiitzii Dew. 9 Spikes 2 4, near, ascending, cylindric, 1 2', more or 

 less dense, straw-yellow ; perigynia 50150, ovoid, the long beak 2-toothed, much 

 exceeding the subulate glumes. Very leafy, If. N. J., N. Y., and N. Eng. 



169 . bulluta Schk. $ Spikes 13, linear, with lance-oblong, close glumes ; 9 

 spikes 1 2, oblong, 1' by 8", short-stalked ; perigynia turgid-ovoid, 5", beak 2-cus- 

 p'idate, thrice longer than the obtusish glumes. 1 2f. Swamps, N. E., and S. : coin. 



1 1O C. pbysema Dew. ? Resembles the last, but has very long leafy bracts, $ spk. 

 3 with loose glumes, and the single large oblong $ spike loose-flowered ; perigyuia 

 radiating, brownish. A variety ? Newark, N. Y. (Hankensori). 



171 C. gigautea Rudge. 4 Spikes 13, glumes pointed; ? 24, 1830", loo?e, 

 pedunculate, suberect, brownish ; perigynium ovoid-acuminate, many(18)-uerved, the 

 very long beak forked, two or three times longer than the lanceolate-awned glume. 

 Stout, 2 3f ; leaves 6" broad. Del. to Ky., and South. Allied to No. 103. 



1 72 C. retrorsa Schw. $ Spikes 13, often partly fertile ; 9 40, cylindric, thick, 

 near, 12' by 7", spreading; perigynium ovoid, inflated, fe\v(10) -nerved, the long 

 beak forked, deflexed, far exceeding the glume. Bright green, 2f. Pools : common. 



/3. Hnrtii. $ Spikes loose, distant, the lower long-stalked. N. Y. (S. H. Wright). 

 y. ? lupulug, i Spikes 2; ? very large, short-stalked, straw-yellow; perigynia 



horizontal, much inflated, 10-nerved ; glumes pointed. A fine Carex ; 2 3f; 



allied both to Nos. 103, 171, and 172. N. Y. (E. L. Ilankenson, H. B. lard). 



ORDER CLV. GRAMINE^E. THE GRASSES. 



Herbs (the Canes and Bamboos are woody and tree-like) with culms 

 mostly hollow and jointed. The leaves are alternate, 2-ranked, on tubular 

 sheaths split down to the base, and bearing a membranous ligule (of the 

 nature of stipules) where the sheath and blade meet. Flowers in little 

 spikelets of 1 or several, with the glumes in 2 rows, collected into spikes, 

 racemes, or panicles. Glumes (the lower pair of scales in the spikelet) al- 

 ternate, enclosing the flowers. Pales (or palse, the outer pair of scales of 

 each particular flower) alternate and unequal. Perianth or represented 

 by 2 minute hypogynous scales. Stamens 1 6, commonly 3, antJiers versa- 

 tile, 2-celled, bifid at both ends. Ovary simple, 1-ovuled, 1-styled, with 2 

 feathery stigmas. Fruit a caryopsis, with mealy albumen. 



A vast and important Order, contributing largely to the sustenance of man and beast. 

 Both herbage and seed are rich in sweet and nutritious matter. In temperate regions, 

 the Grasses form a turf, soft, green, and compact, clothing the hills and plains, pastures 

 and meadows. But in tropical regions this beautiful turf-carpet is unknown, the Grasses 

 becoming larger, even trees (as the stately Bamboo), and stand more isolated, with 

 broader leaves and larger panicles. To this Order belong the Cereal Grains, as the Indian- 

 Corn, Wheat, Rye, Oats, Barley, Rice, &c., as well as the Hay-grasses Timothy, Red top, 

 Dim-grass, Spear-grass, &c. Also the Sugar-Cane, and various kinds of Sorghum. 



Spikelet 1-flowered with no apparent rudiment of a second flower. . .(2) 

 S Spikelet 2-flowered, one of the flowers sterile or rudimentary... (7) 



| Spikclet 3-flowered, the two lower (lateral) flowers sterile or rudimentary... (t) Tribe C 



} Bpikelet 2 "C flowered, two or more of the flowers perfect, or all imperfect (9 $ ). . .(9) 



