POLYGONE.E, 135 



10. r. iinbricatuiu, Nntt. in Wats. Am. Nat. vii. 665 (1873). Stems 

 1 — 8 in. high, slender, anj,ailar, the branches few or many, all from above 

 the base, ascending : herbage glabrous or at the nodes a little scabrous : 

 leaves % — 1 in. long, linear, acnte, l-nerved ; sheaths rather large, bifid 

 or lacerate above the short scarious base : fi. rather densely spicate, the 

 bracts loosely imbricate, 2 — 4 lines long, often with a narrow scarious 

 margin : fl. subsessile, 1 line long or less, whitish or rose-tinted : stamens 

 3 or 5 : styles as long as the ovary : achene % line long, black, minutely 

 tubercnlate-striate. —A subalpine s^jecies common from near Donner 

 Lake northward in the Sierra. July — Oct. 



* * Leaves not jointed tvith the petiole, striately S-nerved (except in u. 14); 



sheaths 2-lobed or fimbriate; stamens 8, the inner 3 scarcely 



dilated. — Subgenus Dubavia, Wats. 



■1— Sle)ns hard and rigid; Jtowers spicate, solitary in the axils of bracts; 



styles persistent. 



11. P. Californicum, Meisn. in DC. Prodr. xiv. 100 (1856). Erect, 

 slender, 3 — 6 in. high, panicled -spicate, the stem and branches glabrous, 

 dark brown : leaves rigid, linear or filiform, }{ — 1^4 in. long, pungently 

 acute : spikes very slender, elongated, the subulate bracts 1 — 2 lines 

 long ; sheaths 1 line long, deeply lacerate-fringed, nearly eqxialling the 

 pale rose-colored flowers : achene narrow, slightly exposed ; styles 

 slightly divergent. — Valleys and dry hills of the interior from near Napa 

 and Sacramento northward. July — Sept. 



12. P. Greeiiei, Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. xiv. 294 (1879) ; Bot. Calif, ii. 

 480. Resembling the last, but with denser stouter spikes ; bracts and 

 .finely fimbriate sheaths 2 lines long : achene oblong-ovate, with very 

 vshort and stout almost erect styles. — Upper part of the Sacramento 

 valley, Mrs. Bidicell, and northward. July — Sept. 



13. P. Bidwelliae, Wats. 11. cc. Smaller than the preceding, the 

 branches fewer, more divergent : spikes short and dense : stipules very 

 conspicuous, large, scarious and white-chaflfy, 2 lines long or more, 

 equalling or surpassing the bracts, entire or only slightly lacerate at the 

 2-lobed summit : fl. a line long, pale rose-color : achene oblong-ovate, 

 less than a line long including the very divergent styles. — Known only 

 from near Chico, Mrs. Bidnell, Dr. Parry, but a very well marked species. 



•1— •)— Slews leafy and Jioriferous IhroughoiU : flovers 2 or 3 in each 

 axil: styles decidnous. 



14. P. Parryi, Greene, Bull. Torr. Club, viii. 99 (1881). Usually with 

 several upright branches 1 — 3 in. high, short-jointed, very leafy, rather 

 sharply angled, glabrous : leaves %~1 in. long, linear, acute, l-nerved, 

 the upper scarcely diminished in size, all somewhat spreading or merely 

 ascending ; sheaths 2 lines long, broad and nearly distinct from the 



