546 CYPERACEJE. (SEDOE FAMILY.) 



nearly terete, loiiRituilinally rihbeil and pitted, jjointed witli tlie conical or 

 dei)ressed tubercle; bristles 3-4, shorter than tlie nut, sometimes wanting. - 

 Marj^ins of ponds, Florida, ami nortliward. June -Sept. 



127. E. pygmoea, Torr. Culms short (T- 2' hi<^li), grooved on one side; 

 spi lies-ovate, .} - ti flowered ; scales wliitisii, ovate ; nut ovate, pale, prominently 

 3-auglcd, smooth and shining, narrowed abcjve into tlie minute tubercle; bris- 

 tles 6, longer tiian the nut, sometimes wanting. — Muddy or sandy banks 

 near the coiist, Florida, and northward. April - July. — Khizoma very slender, 

 bearing minute tuber-like buds. Spikes l"-2" long. 



28. E. Baldwinii, Torr. Culms (-t'-fi' long) grooved, diffuse, wiry ; 

 spikes oblong, Hat, 3-5-rtowcred, pndiferou.s and rooting; scales 4-6, 2- 

 ranked, lanceolate, obtuse, finely nerved, the lower ones longer; nut smooth, 

 oblong, strongly 3-angled, crowned with the conical 3 angled sessile tubercle; 

 bristles 4-6, une(|ual, the longest as long as the nut. — Swamps, Florida and 

 Georgia. June -Sept. ^ — Sheaths light brown. Spikes 2" long. 



8. SCIRPUS, T>. Hi-Lursii. 



Spikes terete, single, or oftener in clusters or umbels, which are subtended 

 by a 1 -many -leaved involucre. Scales inil)ricated in several rows. Nut ob- 

 tuse, or pointed by the persistent jointless base of the style. Tubercle none. 

 — Culms jointed and leafy, or leafy or sheathed ouly at the base. Otherwise 

 like Eleocharis. — All perennial except No. 2. 



§ 1. Culms jointless : leaves or sheaths radical. 

 * Spilre solitarij, terminal. 



1. S. caespitOSUS, L. Culm tufted C6'-10' high), terete, wiry; sheaths 

 numerous, rigid, imbricated, the uppermost ending in a short leaf; spike 3- 

 8-flowered ; involucre 2-leave(l, as long as the spike, pointed ; nut oblong, com- 

 pressed-3-anglcd, abrujjtly pointed, half as long as the smootli capillary bris- 

 tles. — High mountains of North Carolina, and northward. July. — Rhizoma 

 thick and creejung. Spike I" -2" long. 



* * Spikes 2-mani/, apparentli/ lateral: the l-leaved involucre erect and 



continuous with the culm. 



-1- Spilces in sessile clusters. 



2. S. debiliS, Pursh. Culm terete, slender, commonly leafless ; spikes 

 2 -.5, oblong-ovate or cylindrical: involucre elongated; scales round-ovate, 

 obtuse, mucronate ; style 2 - 3-cleft ; nut broadly obovate, plano-convex, smooth, 

 shorter than the 4-6 strongly hispid bristles. — Borders of ponds and streams. 

 South Carolina, and northward. (T) — Culms i°- H° high. Spikes 3"- 5" 

 long. 



3. S. pungens, Vahl. Culm stout, acutely 3-angled, two of the sides 

 concave, leafv at the base ; leaves channelled, sharply keeled ; involucre slen- 

 der (3' -4' long) ; spikes 3-6, light brown, oblong; scales membranaceous, 

 oval, 2-cleft, mucronate-awned, slightly ciliate; anthers slender-pointed; style 

 2-cleft ; nut round-obovate, plano-convex or lenticular, as long as the 3-5 his- 

 pid bristles. (S. Americauus, Pers.) — Sandy marshes along the coast, West 



