CYPEKACE^. (sedge FAMILY.) 545 



cle ; bristles none. — Margins of ponds and streams, Florida, and westward. 

 June -August, (l) — Culms 3' -5' high. Spikes l"-2" long, the lower 

 scales deciduous as new flowers are developed. Nut black, smooth and 

 shining. 



•t- -f- Culms terete or compressed, more or less spongtj. 



20. E. capitata, R. Br. Culms tufted, nearly terete; spikes globose- 

 ovate, closely many-flowered ; scales chartaceous, oval, pale, or brown near 

 the rounded summit; nut black, smooth and shining, broadly obovate, bicon- 

 vex, rather shorter than the stout bristles ; tubercle white, depressed, apicu- 

 late. — Low ground near the coast, Georgia, and westward. — Culms 4' -6' 

 high. Spikes 2" long. 



21. E. OChreata, Xees. Rhizoma slender, creeping ; culms compressed ; 

 spikes sliort, ovate, 4- 16-flowered ; scales membranaceous, whitish, oblong, 

 obtuse, deciduous ; nut black and shining, broadly obovate, biconvex, tipped 

 with the short conical tubercle; bristles 6, as long as the nut. — Springy or 

 miry places. South Carolina, and westward. June -Sept. Jl — Culms l'-4' 

 high. Spikes 1"- 2" long. Scales often brown when young. Nut very small. 



22. E. olivacea, Torr. Culms compressed, furrowed, diffuse ; spikes 

 ovate, acutish, many-flowered; scales ovate, obtuse, thin, purplish on the sides, 

 green on the keel, the margins white; nut obovate, dull, dark olive; tubercle 

 distinct, conical-beaked ; bristles 6-8, about as long as the nut. — Wet sandy 

 places, Florida, and northward. August - Sept. — Culms 2' - 5' long. Spikes 

 3" long, 20 -30-flowered. 



23. E. palustris, R. Br. Rhizoma creeping; culms slender, terete, 

 striate; spikes oblong-lanceolate, mostly acute, many-flowered; scales oblong, 

 membranaceous, brown on the sides, at length whitish, the upper ones acute; 

 nut dull yellow, obovate, tumid, minutely dotted ; tubercle short, triangular- 

 ovate, compressed ; bristles 4, slender, commonly as long as the nut. — Marshes 

 and wet places, Florida, and northward. June- Sept. 11 — Rhizoma black. 

 Culms 1° - 3° long. Spikes 3"- fy" long. 



24. E. Obtusa, Schultes. Culms tufted, terete, thick and spongy ; spikes 

 ovate or oblong, obtuse, many-flowered ; scales thin, oblong, obtuse, commonly 

 brown on the sides, green on the keel, with broad and white margins ; style 

 2-3-cleft ; nut (light brown) obovate, lenticular, smooth and shining, scarcely 

 wider than the short compressed acute tubercle ; bristles 6, rigid, twice the 

 length of the nut. (E. Engelmannii, Stendl., spikes cylindrical, 4" -6" long ; 

 bristles shorter.) — Muddy margins of ponds and streams. Common and va- 

 riable. June -Sept, — Culms 6'- 18' high. Spikes 2' -4' long. 



25. E. COmpressa, Sulliv. Culms flat, from a creeping rootstock (l'^- 

 2° high) ; spikes ovate-oblong, many-flowered ; scales oblong, acute, dark pur- 

 ple, the margins white ; nut obovate, compressed, the small tubercle acute ; 

 bristles 1 - 4, very slender, about the length of the nut, often wanting. — Wet 

 places mountains of Georgia, Tennessee, and northward. 



§2, Ch^toctperxjs. — Spikes few-flowered, compressed: scales membrana- 

 ceous, imbricated in 2-3 rows: style 3-cle/t. Culms capillary. 



26. E. aciCUlaris, R.Br. Culms (2' -1 2' high) angled; spikes ovate, 

 5-6-flowered acute; scales oblong, with reddish sides; nut oljlong, white, 



