BKPOET OF THE BTATB BOTANIST. 67 



and stalked, or sometimes all subdistant ; bracts mostl}' exceed- 

 ing the culm; perigynia obtusely angled, prominently nerved 

 and having an abruptly bent or recurved rarely straight beak. 



Lower or radical leaves 8" broad or more albursina. 



Lower leaves less than 8" broad 1 



1 Pistillate spikes densely flowered, perigynia ovate. .. . granulans. 



1 Pistillate spikes subdensely or loosely flowered ....... 2 



2 Upper spikes usually contiguous, the sterile subsessile, blanda. 



2 Upper spikes rarely contiguous, the sterile stalked . . 3 



3 Spikes subloosely flowered, brpcts shorter than the culm, styloflexa. 



3 Spikes loosely flowered, bracts longer than the culm. . laxiflora. 



70 . Carex laxiflora Lam. 



Stems l°-2° high, erect or spreading, triangular, smooth ; 

 leaves mostly subradical, short, U"- 4" wide, smooth e.xcept on 

 the margins, the radical often wider and half as long as the culm ; 

 staminate spike linear or clavate, ^'-1' long, conspicuously stalked 

 or subsessile ; pistillate spikes 2-4, linear, loosely flowered on a 

 flexuous rachis ^'--1' in length, the uppermost (rarely 2) sessile 

 or short-stalked at the base of the sterile, the others subdistant 

 or the lowest remote, all on erect, exserted peduncles J'-H' lono-; 

 bracts leafy, short-sheathed, shorter or slightly longer than the 

 culm; perigynia obovate, strongly nerved, with a straight or 

 slightly recurved beak, exceeding the ovate, obtuse, mostly mucro- 

 nate white scale. 



A subradical spike on a slender, flattened peduncle 2'~2^' in 

 length is not rare. 



Woods, ravines and open places. Common. June. 



Yar. varians Bailey has stouter culms and broader leaves than 

 the type, the fertile spikes a little closer flowered, the upper 2 

 mostly contiguous to the sterile, the highest sessile, bracts often 

 longer than the culm, the perigynia less strongly nerved. 



Var. patulifolia Carey differs from the type chiefly in its 

 broader root leaves, 5"- 7" wide, and in the usually longer bracts, 

 equaling or surpassing the culm. 



Very common iu damp shades and ravines. Ma}', June. 



7 1 . Carex styloflexa Buckley. 

 Stems 12'-18' high, slender, erect or diffuse, smooth, leaves 

 2' -i' loiig, 1" wide, the radical longer and 1"- 1^" wide ; staminate 



