MONOECIA— TRIANDIIIA. Carex. 109 



Tlie channelled, narrow, long leaves and hractens at once ascertain 

 this species, which is not much allied to C.Jlava ovfulva. Some 

 fertile /?ore/s now and then occur in the lower part of the barren 

 catkin, which is not always perfectly single. 



42. C. distajis. Loose Carex. 



Sheaths tubuhir, elongated, nearly equal to the flower- 

 stalks. Fertile catkins elliptic-oblong, widely distant. 

 Scales pointed. Stem smooth. 



C. distans. Linn.Sp.Pl. \3S7. lVilkl.v.4.27\. Fl. Br. 992. Engl. 

 Bot.v. 18. t. 1234. Hook. Scot. 267. Schk. Car. 102. ^T./. G8. 

 Ehrh. Calam. 40. 



C. n. 1382. Hall. Hist. v. 2. 192. 



Cyperoides spicis parvis, long^ distantibus. Segu. Veron. v. 3. 77; 

 from the author. Scheiichz. Agr. 431. 



Gramen cyperoides, spicis parvis longissim^ distantibus. Rail 

 Syn. 420. 



G. cyperoides gracile alterum, glomeratis torulis, spatio distanti- 

 bus. Lob. lllustr. 60. Moris, v. 3. 243. sect. 8. t. 12./. 18. 



In muddy marshes, especially near the sea j first noticed by Dr. 

 Marlin Lister, according to Ray. 



Perennial. June. 



Root fibrous, scarcely creeping. Stem 12 to 18 inches high, weak, 



or reclining, triangular, striated, smooth, except at the very 



summit above the fertile catkins ; leafy at the bottom. Leaves 



lanceolate, flat, short and broad, tapering to a point, rough at 



the edges. Bracteas narrower than the leaves, each with a 



close, striated, cylindrical, smooth sheath, about an inch long. 



Flower-stalks sometimes entirely inclosed in the sheaths, but 



the lowermost are generally longer, triangular and smooth. 



Fertile catkins 2 or 3, with a space of 6 inches, or more, betvi'een 



the 2 lowest, all usually elliptic-oblong, various in length if not 



in thickness, erect, blackish or brown rather than tawny. Scales 



ovate, broad, brown speckled with red, having a green 3-ribbed 



keel, and a very distinct, straight, rough point, or awn, varying 



in length, but always sufficient to distinguish the present species 



from its allies, except the following. Barren catkin always 



solitary, erect, cylindrical, obtuse, longer than the rest; its 



scales numerous, obtuse, pointless, rusty. Stam. 3. Stigm. 3. 



Fruit ovate, triangular, uniformly and equally ribbed all over, 



either rough or smooth at the edges of the upper part, in the 



very same catkin, as are likewise the edges of the shortish cloven 



beak, though all are usually smooth. Schkuhr represents them 



always rough, though his figure is otherwise very good. Seed 



obscurely dotted, triangular, equal. 



The plate of Fl. Dan. t. 1029, quoted in Fl. Br., is indubitably 



our C. speirostachya, n. 28. to which species, I have reason to 



