52 



CYPEEACEAE. 



5. Eleocharis bermudiana Britton. BERMUDA 

 SPIKE-RUSH. (Fig. 79.) Perennial by very slen- 

 der rootstocks; culms slender, erect, i-li high, 

 tufted. Basal sheath oblique, 1-toothed ; spikelet 

 short-ovoid to oblong, obtuse, much thicker than 

 the culm, 2"-3$" long, l"-2" thick, many-flow- 

 ered; scales ovate, whitish, obtuse, persistent; 

 style 3-cleft; bristles 3 or 4, downwardly barbed, 

 as long as the achene and tubercle T somewhat 

 longer ; achene oblong-obovate, 3-angled, brown, 

 shining, \" long, smooth, short-beaked under the 

 short-conic, acute tubercle. 



Occasional along borders of marshes. Endemic. 

 Nearest related to E. cilbida Torr. of the eastern 

 United States. Referred by Hemsley to E. melanocarpa 

 Torr. and by Clarke to E. Berlandieri (Britton) Clarke. 

 First named as a distinct species in Journal N. Y. 

 Botanical Garden, 13 : 191. 



6. Eleocharis rostellata Torr. 

 BEAKED SPIKE-RUSH. (Fig. 80.) Per- 

 ennial; culms slender, wiry, the fer- 

 tile ones erect or ascending, the sterile 

 reclining or recurving and rooting at 

 the tip, often 5-6 long. Upper 

 sheath truncate ; spikelet oblong, 10 

 20-flowered, 3"-6" long; scales ovate, 

 green with a darker midrib ; bristles 

 4-8, retrorsely barbed, longer than 

 the achene and tubercle ; style 3- 

 cleft; achene 3-angled, reticulated. 



Abundant in marsh east of Cam- 

 den, 1912. Native. United States and 

 Cuba. 



7. RYNCHOSPOEA Vahl. 



Leafy sedges, mostly perennial by rootstocks, with erect 3-angled or terete 

 culms, narrow r flat or involute leaves, and ovoid oblong or fusiform, variously 

 clustered spikelets. Scales thin. 1-nerved, imbricated all around, usually mucro- 

 nate by the excurrent midvein, the lower empty. Upper flowers imperfect, the 

 lower perfect. Perianth of 1-20 (mostly 6) upwardly or downwardly barbed 

 or scabrous bristles, or wanting in some species. Stamens commonly 3. 

 Style 2-cleft, 2-toothed or rarely entire. Achene lenticular or swollen, not 3- 

 angled, smooth or transversely wrinkled, capped by the persistent base of the 

 style (tubercle), or in some species by the whole style. [Greek, referring to the 

 beak-like tubercle.] About 200 species, of wide geographic distribution, most 

 abundant in warm regions. Type species: Bynchospora aurea Vahl. 



