Holm, The genus Carex in North -West America. 21 



on the coast and Islands, besides that it has been found at a few 

 stations in Yukon, Washington and Oregon. In several respects 

 this species is suggestive ot C. spedahilh, from which it differs 

 by its generally larger size, taller culms and longer leaves, by the 

 aristate scales and many-nerved-perigynia with the orifice entire; 

 furthermore the spikes are darker and drooping. The species is 

 very variable in regard to the number of the spikes, the shape of 

 the scales and the relative size of the perigynia; the variety 

 emarginata is thus characteristic by its emarginate scales with the 

 awn four times as long as the body, while in the var. macro- 

 clüaena the perigynia have attained a considerable size , being 

 much longer than the scales. 



A very characteristic, phyllopodic species has been found on 

 St. Paul island and the Popoff islands, which we have called C. 

 nesopliüa. This plant resembles habitally certain foims of C. 

 salina, but the structure of the perigynium is more like that of 

 C. macrochaeta : the squamae are broadly elliptic and acute, purplish 

 to almost black, but neither mucronate or aristate. The perigynium 

 is pale green with a purplish, entire or obliquely cut beak. On 

 account of the structure of the perigynium we have placed the 

 species next to C. macrochaeta, but habitally these two species are 

 very different, different to the same extent as the phyllopodic 

 C, microchaeta, from the aphyllopodic ü. speefabilis. Another very 

 distinct north-western type is C aperfa, one of the most abvmdant 

 Carices along the Columbia River in Washington; it has, further- 

 more been collected in British Columbia , Idaho and Oregon , but 

 not in Alaska. The species is somewhat anomalous within the 

 grex since the beak of the perigynium is bidentate, but otherwise 

 we have not been able to detect other characters by which to 

 separate it from the Aeorastacht/ae. 



Rare in Alaska and British Columbia, but scattcred throughout 

 the mountains of Washington, Oregon and California, we find 

 Dewey's unpublished C. magnifica. which, as stated above, was 

 formerly mistaken for C. Sitchensls. The very long and dark, 

 almost sessile and contiguous spikes give it a very peculiar aspect; 

 it has two allies in California: C. SchottU and lacunarum. Among 

 the last members of the grex, which we have enumerated from 

 this region, C. stygia shows a wide distribution along the Alaskan 

 coast and on the islands, where it seems to be much more frequent 

 than in arctic Europe. The common, arctic species C. rariflora 

 is, on the other hand, rare in our region, being confined to Port 

 Clarence and St. Lawrence island. C. limosa does not occur in 

 Alaska, but in some few places in the other States; C. Magellanica, 

 on the other hand, we have seen from Yes Bay (Alaska) besides 

 from a few stations in Yukon, British Columbia and Washington. 

 In regard to C. stygia we have examined a very large number ot 

 specimens, which showed constantly the specific characters b\^ which 

 it is distinguished from the other members of this group, hence 

 we prefer to enumerate it as a species instead of as a variety of 

 rariflora. The geographical distribution of C. stygia seems, also, 

 to speak in favor of this supposition, when we remember for in- 

 stance the abundant occurrence of C. rariflora throughout the 



