October, 1 91 9] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



75 



with purplish spots above, and the caespitose habit 

 reminds one of C. caespilosa L., but it lacks the 

 aphyllopcdic structure of this species. 



Allied to C. acutina Bail, is C. Umnocharis nob. 

 from Yukon ,a species with long, slender, pistillate 

 spikes of reddish brown color, in habit much like 

 the European C. prolixa Fr. Furthermore there 

 are two very characteristic species bearing a strong 

 resemblance to the European C. acuta L., C. Sitch- 

 ensis Presc, known from Alaska, and C. Jives 

 nob., from the Chilliwack Valley and Vanvcuver 

 Island, British Columbia. And, if we compare the 

 European representations of these alliances, I'he 

 aquatilis, rigida and acuta, we meet with analogous 

 types corresponding with those of this continent. 



The large grex Aeorastach])ae is also well ex- 

 emplified in Canada, and several of the species are 

 also well known from the northern parts of Europe, 

 viz, Carex subspathacea Wormskj., C. salina 

 Wahlenb., C. cr^ptocarpa C. A. Mey., C. mari- 

 tima L., C. Magellanica Lam.' C. limosa L., 

 C. rariflora Sm., and C. stygia Fr. Of these C. 

 subspathacea, rariflora and st\)gia e.xtend to the 

 Arctic regions. 



But especially characteristic of this continent are 

 C. macrochaeta C. A. Mey., C. nesophila nob., C. 

 aperta Boctt, C. criniia Lam., and C. magnifica 

 Dew. A somewhat peculiar habit is exhibited by 

 C. nesophila; the culm is phyllopcdic and the spikes 

 resemble those of C. salina, while the structure of 

 perigynium corresponds with that of C. macro- 

 chaeta. This interestmg species was detected by 

 James M. Macoun on St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, 

 and since then it has also been collected on Popoff 

 Island by Mr. Trevor Kincaid. 



Although exceedingly frequent on the Alaskan 



coast and the islands, C. macrochaeta shows but 



nWTth respect to C. Magellanica Lam., this 

 species has been exclucied from the North American 

 flora, and in the recently published, Gray's New 

 Manual of Botany it has been replaced by C. 

 paupercula Michx on the strength of the diagnosis 

 of Lamarck calling for a species with androgynous 

 spikes, as pointed out by M. L. Fernald (Khodora, 

 Vol. 8, 1906, p. 73). And Mr. Fernald haying ex- 

 amined 633 inflorescences and finding that in 600 of 

 these the terminal spike was purely staminate, 

 and only more or less androgynous in the remaining 

 33, this author reaches the remarkable conclusion 

 that the North American species is distinct from 

 Lamarck's, wliich was collected on the shores of the 

 Straits of Magellan. The fact is, however, that 

 Lamarck (Encyclop. 3, p. 385. n. 25) described his 

 species "spicis androgynis," meaning that all the 

 spikes, the terminal as well as the lateral, had 

 staminate flowers at the base thus beneath the 

 pistillate flowers. In C. Magellanica the spikes are, 

 thus, gynaecandrous, i.e., pistillate at the top, 

 staminate at the base and exactly this disposition 

 of the sexes occurs in the North American and 

 European representations of C. Magellanica. The 

 main point, that the lateral spikes are constantly 

 gynaecandrous has escaped the attention of Mr. 

 Fernald, although Boott, Schkuhr and nearly all 

 other caricographers have described and figured the 

 species correctly. The fact, that the terminal spike 

 is frequently purely staminate is of no importance. 



slight variation. The terminal spike is usually 

 wholly staminate, but we found, however, a few 

 specimens from Unalaska in which this was either 

 androgynous or gynaecandrous or even entirely 

 pistillate. In the variety emarginata nob., the 

 scales are prominently emarginate with a seta four 

 times as long as the body of the scale. 



In another variety macrochlaena, nob., the plant 

 IS very robust with four short and heavy pistillate 

 spikes, the perigynium is very large and longer than 

 the simply mucronate scale; it was collected on 

 St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, by James M. 

 Maccun. These varieties agree, however with the 

 typical plant with respect to the culms being con- 

 stantly aphyllopodic. 



Among the Cenchrocarpae we meet with the 

 interesting little species C. bicolor All., reported 

 from Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia, be- 

 sides from Labrador; it occurs also in Greenland, 

 and on the Alps in South Europe. Much more 

 frequent is C. aurea Nutt, and among the descis- 

 centes we meet with C. granularis Muhl., C. 

 pallescens L. and the very local C. Torreyi, Tuckm. 



From a morphological viewpoint the Lejoch- 

 laenae constitute one of the most interesting greges 

 with their monopodial shoots and aphyllopodic 

 culms. They are mostly sylvan types of light 

 green color, and the more or less drooping spikes 

 give them a very graceful aspect. Nearly all the 

 American members are represented in Canada, and 

 while C. Hendersonii Bail, is a western type the 

 others are mainly eastern. We meet here with 

 the laxiflora alliance, as well as with some 

 desciscentes: C. grisea Wahlenb., C. oligocarpa 

 Schk., C. conoidea Schk., and C. glaucodea 

 Tuckm. 



The Dactylostachyae are much less common, and 

 altogether poorly represented on this continent; 

 Canada, however, is the home of the beautiful little 

 species C. concinna R. Br., C. pedunculata Muehl. 

 and C. Richardsonii, R. Br. 



Some few species of the small grex Microcarpae 

 are represented in Canada, viz : C. gracillima 

 Schw., and C. formosa Dew. Characteristic of the 

 Athrochlaenae is the scales being deciduous of the 

 perigynia being prominently stipitate and reflexed 

 at maturity It is a very small grex containing only 

 two species, C. pyrenaica Wahlenb., and C. 

 nigricans C. A. Mey. Both are found in Canada 

 and the geographical name of the former certainly 

 proves very unfortunate, inasmuch as the species 

 occurs also in New Zealand. A grex closely allied 

 to the Athrochlaenae is that of the Stenocarpae 

 so far as concerns the structure of the perigynium, 

 being attenuated at both ends, relatively narrow, 

 and the generally dark colored spikes. It is a grex 



