EEPOET OF THE STATE BOTANIST. 21 



the study of them until nearly every other genus has received 

 attention. That beginners in the study of botany should distrust 

 their abilit}'^ to cope with these plants is not strange, since both 

 teacher and text book have sometimes warned them to " beware 

 of this extremely difficult genus, as none but the most experi- 

 enced should approach it." This should not be so. There 

 certainly are difficulties to be encountered, but they are no more 

 formidable than those with which we meet in other genera, such 

 as Aster, Euphorbia and Aspidium. If we except two or three 

 groups containing two or three species each, and certain allied 

 forms which have been considered good species in one generation 

 and mere varieties in another, and which are now considered 

 species by one botanist and varieties by another, if we except 

 these which are less than a dozen in number, there are no serious 

 difficulties in the study of the carices. 



Specimens with mature fruit are desirable and even necessary 

 for the satisfactory identification of species of this genus, for the 

 descriptions are based upon such specimens, the fully developed 

 spikes, perigynia and scales furnishing the most distinctive and 

 reliable specific characters. The perigynia, or a few of them, 

 should be removed from tlie rachis for study, for in this way 

 their characters are more clearly seen. Ordinarily the achenia 

 or seeds are neglected, but in some instances thej^ furnish import- 

 ant distinguishing characters, and will be a valuable aid to a 

 beginner in deciding upon the identity of certain closely related 

 species. C. lupulina and C. lupuliformis are cases of this kind. 



In the descriptions that follow, the plan is to define the char- 

 acters of each species full}', clearly and minutely without reference 

 to its likeness to other species. This his been done even at the 

 risk of being thought unnecessarily repetitious. Measurements 

 of the different parts of the plant have been freely given, and it 

 is believed that in many instances they will be found a most 

 satisfactory aid in the identification of the species. 



Varieties are compared with the typical form of the species. 



Carex L. 



Flowers of two kinds, one staminate, consisting of three sta- 

 mens in the axil of a scale-like bract (scale), the other pistillate, 

 consisting of a pistil terminating in two or three stigmas and 

 forming in maturity a dry hard lenticular or triangular seed 



