50 TRIANDRIA— MONOGYNIA. Schoenus. 



in the Grammar, are princi})ally taken. My calj/x, con- 

 sisting of a single scale or glume to eachjlower, and often 

 accompanied by many smaller empty ones in each spike, 

 is the palea (chaff or scale) of Mr. Brown. The Perianth, 

 or Cal2/j:, of this author, is either wanting, or consists of 

 rough bristles, various in number, or more rarely is mem- 

 branous, as in the genus Carex, consisting in that instance 

 of 1 valve ; in others of 3. But my objection to this view 

 of the subject is, that these bristles, or membranous parts, 

 are situated between the stamens and germen, and cannot 

 therefore be either calyx or corolla, but are rather an 

 appendage to the germen and seed, which latter they ac- 

 company to the last. 



The stamens are " of a definite number, generally 3, some- 

 times 1 or 2, sometimes 4 or 6, very rarely 12;" their 

 Jilaments either capillary, or flat, lax and spreading, pro- 

 ceeding from the receptacle beneath the germen ; anthers 

 attached by the base, linear, undivided, mostly pendulous, 

 of 2 cells, bursting lengthwise. Germen with the rudiment 

 of a single kernel only, which is attached by its base to the 

 bottom; style cylindrical, or more commonly triangular, 

 finally separating, either at the base, or more usually at a 

 joint, a little way up, leaving the lower part to form a beak 

 to the seed ; stigmas linear, downy, rarely cloven. Seed 

 hard, often polished, coloured, and dotted, with as many 

 angles as there are stigmas ; its chief bulk consisting of a 

 firm albumen of the same shape; embryo simple, orbicular, 

 flattened, situated in the base of the seed, on the outside 

 of the albumen, as Mr. Brown observes in opposition to 

 Goertner, who, with Jussieu, describes this organ as within 

 the albumen; plumula not discernible. 



The Jlowers are ranged in spikes, various in length; the 

 lower glumes of which are, many of them, in some cases, 

 abortive and destitute of any organs of fecundation. 



I think nothing is gained by calling the seed of these plants 

 a nut, on account of its hardness, which is but compara- 

 tive ; there being no supernumerary integument to distin- 

 guish this seed from others, acknowledged to be simple 

 and naked.] 



SCH(ENUS. 



Spike of 1 — 3 Jloiaers, subtended by numerous, smaller, 

 empty, keeled, folded, crowded glumes, in 2 opposite 

 ranks. Cor. none. Filam. capillary, longer than the 

 glumes. Anth, linear, erect. Germ, superior, round' sh, 



