October, 1 91 9] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



73 



the United States. However, our knowledge of the 

 American element of the genus we owe almost ex- 

 clusively to the Macouns, through their familiarity 

 with the genus and correct determinations. The 

 liberal gifts of well selected material in connection 

 with, so to speak, a most indefatigable correspond- 

 ence has enabled us to draw a concise comparison 

 of the Old World and American representations of 

 Carex. 



Most prevalent in the north, even beyond the 

 Arctic Circle, and at high elevations in the moun- 

 tainous districts, the genus has proved of special 

 interest to the student of plant geography and of 

 the migration of species during the glacial epoch, 

 to be traced now through the circumpolar element, 

 mingled with types of southern origm. And the 

 vast distribution of the genus has resulted in the 

 production of types utterly unlike each other, when 

 comparing the supposed ancestral with those of 

 more recent origin. The outlining of the genus 

 in natural greges we owe to Elias Fries, Tucker- 

 man and Salomon Drejer, who laid the foundation 

 of demonstrating the natural affinities, instead of 

 following the usual tendency to arrange the species 

 in accordance wilh superficial characters in a mere 

 analytical way. And, while all other Carico- 

 graphers considered the "Indicac" distinct from 

 "Vigneae" and "Carices genuinae" Drejer in his 

 excellent work "S])mbolae Caricologicae" com- 

 bined these, the "Indicae" with the two others ; 

 thus the "Indicae" may be looked upon as repre- 

 senting evolute types of greges of both Vigneae and 

 Carices genuinae. Furthermore Drejer demonstrat- 

 ed the probable affinities of the species within the 

 greges, considering the monostachyous as "forniae 

 hebeiatae" passing into the "centrales" the typical 

 of the grex, and culminating in some more evolute 

 with some deviating types, the so-called "descis- 

 centes." By this logical arrangement the mono- 

 stachyous species became transferred to various 

 greges, instead of as formerly constituting one most 

 unnatural section with no other feature in common 

 than possessing a single spicate inflorescence, the 

 i^\pistillate, or a spike, the staminate. 



^Z\ Now with respect to Canadian types of the genus, 

 is interesting to see that of the 39 greges enumer- 

 ed by the writer' only five are absent from Can- 

 ^^Ada; these greges are as follows: Psyllophorae 

 S>/(Europe and Azores), Cbionanthae (Europe), 

 ^ Leucocephalae (Virginia), Echinochlaenae (Aus- 

 tralia), and finally Podogynae (Japan). 



As regards the greges present the Microrh])nchae, 

 Aeorasiach^ae, Echinosiach^ae and Ph^socarpae 



are the best represented, being rich in species and 

 of very wide distribution. 



But of special interest are a number of types 

 represented among the various greges, types of a 

 very characteristic structure. These we will de- 

 scribe briefly in the same order as the respective 

 greges (I.e. p. 453). A tristigmatic Vignea, C. 

 nardina Fr., by Boott named C. Hepburnii has been 

 collected on mountain summits of Alberta and 

 British Columbia. Some of the formae hebetatae 

 of the Aslroslachyae ; C. gynocrates Wormskj. and 

 C. ex;7is Dew., have been known as varying from 

 monoecious to dioecious; of these the former con- 

 fined to Greenland and this continent is undoubt- 

 edly most commonly monoecious in the north, judg- 

 ing from the specimens we have examined which 

 were collected in Northern Labrador. British Col- 

 umbia, Alaska and Greenland; in the last place we 

 found this species probably at its most northern limit 

 Skarvefjaeld on the island of Disco, about 69 N. 

 lat. where it occurred only as monoecious. A still 

 more evolute stage is represented by C. exilis, which 

 in Canada occurs as monoecious or dioecious, mono 

 or plio stachyous. A gynaecandrous- spike is 

 frequently met with in this species, besides that the 

 female plant may possess several lateral spikes, 

 from one to six, at the base of the terminal. Among 

 the centrales of this grex we find C. siellulata 

 Good., C. interior Bail., C. sterilis Willd., widely 

 distributed and clearly demonstrating a natural al- 

 liance of true species, although of very close re- 

 lationship. The very peculiar and rare C. sychno- 

 cephala Carey of the grex Sychnocephalae is also 

 a native of Canada, and only one Old World 

 species is known of this grex, C. cyperoides L. ; 

 they both are very much alike, showing exactly the 

 same habit. Among the Xerochlaenae, C. macroce- 

 phala Willd., with its dense and remarkably large 

 inflorescence occurs on the coast and islands of 

 Alaska, and this Carex is tristigmatic, although 

 a typical member of Vignea. Very peculiar is the 

 Canadian representative of C. teretiuscula Good ^ 

 wi;h its large and frequently ramified inflorescence. 

 Among the Athrostachyae, C. f estiva is represented 

 by a multitude of forms, and is widely distributed 

 in the mountains; a very interesting alliance is 

 composed of C. pratensis Drej., C. pestasata Dew., 



iGreges Caricum (Studies in tlie Cyperaceae) 

 American Journal of Science, Vol. XVI, 1903, p. 443. 



2The term gynaecandrous is applied to spikes 

 with both sexes represented, the pistillate flowers 

 being situated above the staminate; the opposite 

 position occurs in androgynous spikes, where the 

 staminate flowers are situated at the apex of the 

 spike, the pistillate at the base. Formerly the term 

 andrygynous \vas used to signify both cases. 



3ll is very unjust to accept the name C. diandra 

 Schrank in place of Goodenough's C. teretiuscula, 

 since Schrank's material upon which he established 

 the species was mixed, containing also C. paradoxa 

 Willd, and C. paniculata L. 



