BEPOET OF THE STATE BOTANIST. 



27 



Spikes 1-4, rarely 5, the upper half or more of the terminal 

 one fertile, sterile below, the others all fertile, cylindrical, 9''-12'' 

 long, 4"-C" wide, stalked, erect; perigynia with a slender leak 

 longer than the body, horizontally spreading when mature. 126. 



Sterile spikes 1-5, clavate or cylindrical, stalked, sometimes 

 androgynous; fertile spikes 1-5, clustered or scattered, or the 

 upper 2 approximate, the others subdistant or distant, peduncu- 

 late or sessile, mostly erect or ascending (pendulous and loosely 

 flowered in 133) the lowest sometimes spreading, densely flowered, 

 frequently sterile at the apex, cylindrical or oblong; perigynia 

 globular-ovoid or ovate-lanceolate, nerved or nerveless, mostly 

 much-inflated and thin, straw-colored or tawny, ascending, widely 

 divergent or reflexed, with a tapering bidentate beak, the latter 

 needle shaped in 133. 127-133. 



Descriptions of Groups and Species. 



A. Staminate and pistillate flowers intermingled in small 

 globular or oblong spikeltts which form clusters, heads or spikes 

 or are panicled in 3, 4 and 5. 



Stigmas 2 ; achenium lenticular. 



Spikelets staminate above, pistillate below. 



Inflorescence simple, both staminate and pistillate flowers 

 found in the same spike or spikelets. 



Spikelets 2-6, 2-5 flowered, in a short interrupted spike, or 

 aggregated in an ovoid head ; perigynia ovate, nerved, of a thick 

 coriaceous texture, with a minute entire or notched point ; bracts 

 scale-like, the lowest bristle pointed ; rootstock extensively 

 creeping. 



Culms slender, leafy at base; spikelets distant tenella. 



Culms rigid, naked; spikelets capitate chordorhiza. 



1 . Carex tenella Schk. 

 Stems 6'-l S' high, slender, erect or spreading, rough above; leaves 

 about equaling the culm, V wide or less, thin, slightly rough on the 

 margins, the loosely tufted radical leaves longer, about 1' wide, 

 suberect or spreading ; spike i'-l' long; spikelets 2-4, separate, 

 the lowest usually with a bristle-shaped bract ^'-1' in length, 1-4 

 flowered, the highest rarely G flowered ; perigynia ovate or 

 elliptical, subterete, U" long, prominently finely nerved, the 



