236 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



CAREX AQUATILIS, WAHLB., VAR. NOV. 

 By ARTHUR BENNETT, F.L.S. 



RECENTLY, when trying to sort my numerous specimens 

 of the above Carex from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and 

 England, I found specimens from Southern Scotland that 

 were in many points different from any others. They were 

 altogether stouter, in all parts more rigid, etc., and seemed 

 worth a name. They correspond with nothing described 

 in the Northern Floras by Fries, Almquist, Lsestadius, or 

 Norman, etc. They certainly better deserve a name than 

 some others lately named. 



I propose to call it var. rigida. The stems are about 

 2^ feet high, leaves broad and thick, with strong nerves ; the 

 male spikes 2 to 3, stout, sessile, rigid ; and where there are 

 3 the lower one, with female flowers, for ^. The female 

 spikes generally 4, upper 3, sessile (lower 2 inches long, 

 upper i inch), 6 mm. thick, the fruit densely compacted, 

 not interrupted. Fruit subrotund, with a short entire beak, 

 the glumes subequal, greenish, with a bright brown edge all 

 round. 



The whole aspect of the plant is more like a salina 

 form, or C. fasciculata, Link., of Portugal, than C. 

 aquatilis. 



Habitat. Banks of the Nith, Sanquhar, Dumfries, 1883, 

 Dr. Davidson. Kenmore Holms, New Galloway, 1887, Mr. 

 J. M l Andrew. 



Another form gathered by Dr. Davidson has the glumes 

 almost hidden by the fruit. Another from Kenmore Holms 

 has the spikes slender, the glumes twice the length of the 

 fruit, and cuspidate. This is closely allied to specimens 

 from "The Thurso River, two miles above the town, 1875, 

 G. Horn." The Dumfries and Kirkcudbright specimens, 

 when placed by the side of those from the Upper White 

 Water, Glen Clova, A. Somerville, 1896, and others gathered 

 in 1831 by Wight (with spikes 3 mm. thick), look quite 

 like another species; " Eng. Bot. Suppl." t. 2758, very well 

 represents this Clova form. The variability of the plant 



