370 



and distributed under the manuscript name Ceratoschoenus hre- 

 virostris, n. sp. I am indebted to Mr. C. B. Clarke for the de- 

 termination. The following description may serve for its identi- 

 fication: Stem erect, rather stout, 3-9 dm. high, glabrous. Leaves 

 linear, flat, the lower 3-4 dm. long, 6-8 mm. wide, slightly rough- 

 ened on the margins, those of the stem distant, shorter ; spikelets 

 lanceolate 6-10 mm. long, three to five-flowered in corymbose 

 clusters, the rays slender, unequal, 2^-5 cm. long ; clusters com- 

 posed of three to five spikelets ; glumes brown, ovate, acute, 

 mucronate, the fertile ones larger than the sterile ; nut brown, 

 ovate or obovate, compressed, slightly concave on each face, 

 3-4 mm. long, finely puncticulate, with a rather prominent keel 

 on both edges ; beak black, compressed, conic, about as long as 

 the nut, slightly papillose, bristles slender, unequal, the larger 

 equaling or slightly exceeding the nut, finely barbed upwardly. 

 The Texan specimen differs from the Cuban only in its 

 larger and denser clusters and somewhat narrower nut. The 

 species comes next to R. corniculata, (Lam.) 



Stenophyllus, Raf Neogen. 4(1825). 



This proposed genus of Rafinesque is briefly characterized by 

 him and Scirpus stenophylluSy Ell. named as the type. This plant 

 is the same as Dichroma ccespitosa, Muhl., and was transferred to 

 Isolepis by Dr. Torrey in his monograph of the North American 

 Cyperaceae (Ann. Lye. N. Y. iii. 353, 1836). In 1837 Kunth 

 (Enum, ii. 209) independently referred it to Isolepis, but under a 

 section which he proposed should form a genus under the name 

 Bulbostylis, although he did not name the species under that 

 genus. I allude to Rafinesque's genus here because Mr. C. B. 

 Clarke has sent me specimens of the Indian Isolepis barbata. a 

 very closely allied species under the name Bulbostylis barbata, 

 and informe me that he has adopted Kunth's genus as distinct 

 from Fimbristylis and Scirpus in his forthcoming monograph of 

 the Cyperaceae Rafinesque's generic name has twelve years 

 priority over Kunth's. Our Fimbristylis capillaris (L.) and a 

 number of tropical American species are congeners. The genus 

 is especially distinguished by the thickened, persistent base of the 

 style, and most of its species have ciliate leaves. 



