Holm, The genus Carex in North -West America. I7 



characteristic of the region, biit the former occurs, furthermore, 

 in South -Greenland. While C. Buxhaiwm. otherwise so widely 

 distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, is rare in our 

 region, its near ally C. Omeüni seems to be confined to Alaska 

 and the coasts of North-East Asia, inchiding Japan. 



Among the ..formae desciscentes" it is interesting to notice the 

 presence of C. ustulata in Alaska (Port Clarence and St. Mathew 

 island) accompanied by C. venustula and C. Montanensis. In C. 

 microchaeta Yukon possesses a very peculiar type with the habit 

 of C. rigida, but with the perigynia and scales of the Melananthae. 

 C. spedahilis, not yet collected in Alaska, has its geographica! 

 Center in the mountains of Washington, Oregon and British Co- 

 lumbia, and extends from there to Cahfornia and Alberta. The 

 typical plant is very characteristic by its graceful habit, the more 

 or less long-peduncled, but erect or spreading, pistillate spikes, 

 which are relatively short and dense-flowered; the scales are pur- 

 plish, mucronate from the excurrent midvein and are longer than 

 the perigynia. The perigynia are deep green, when immature, 

 ovate, more or less distinctly nerved, and the short beak is two- 

 lobed or merely emarginate. Among the copious material, which 

 Mr. Suksdorf has kindly sent us from Mount Paddo (Washington), 

 several and well marked varieties were noticeable. In some 

 specimens the spikes were very short, ovate to almost globose, 

 and the perigynium much broader than in the type. In others 

 the spikes were very long and cylindric, densely crowded, but the 

 perigynium of normal shape and almost black at maturity. Or 

 the spikes showed the typical shape and position, but were of a 

 lighter color, brown to yellowish, as to scales and perigynia. In 

 depauperate specimens the number of the pistillate spikes may be 

 reduced to one or two, very short and almost sessile. 



The surface of the perigynium is in this species granulär, but 

 in some specimens from Mount Paddo the margins, near the beak, 

 were observed to be spinulose in some of the spikes, but not in 

 all. The color of the perigynium, normally deep green, is offen 

 more or less purplish. 



Some perigynia of De wey's own specimens, kindly presented 

 by Mr. C. B. Clarke, showed the development of the racheola into 

 a Processus, either naked or bearing a scale with a staminate 

 flower. Such spikelets with the racheola extended and bearing 

 staminate flowers are rare in Carex, in contrast to the cases where 

 these secondary ramifications bear pistillate flowers, so well known 

 from numerous species of Carices genuinae. 



In looking over the members of the grex that have been 

 found within the region, C. Merteiisil must be considered as one 

 of its types, being besides the most evolute of the section. C. 

 Gmelini is, also, a very interesting type, accompanied by C. Bux- 

 haumii. In C. ustulata we meet with a species of wide geographica! 

 distribution and which occurs here with two allies. C. Montanensis 

 and venustula, the latter being a western type. 



C. microchaeta and spectabilis occupy the most extreme limits 

 of the grex and are, also, to be counted among the types of 

 our region. 



Beihefte Bot. Centralbl. Bd. XXII. Abt. IL Heft 1. 2 



