530 CYrKUACi:;.E. (.skdge family.) 



* * Si'dlis oH-ned, rjrirn : frtile spiles on twillinrj pnlitiiclts : brur/.i long and Uaj. 

 like : leiiffs broadly linear. 



18. C. crinita, Lam. Sterile spikes mostly 2, often witli fertile flowers 

 intermixed ; fertile spikes 3-4, long-eylindrieal, dense-flowered, on long drooping 

 peduncles; pen;.'yniii round-ovate or obovute, somewhat inflated, 2 nerved, ab- 

 rn])tly siiort-pointed, shorter than the long and rough-awned scale ; culms rough- 

 angled above (2° -3° high). — Swamps in the upijer districts, and northward. — 

 Spikes U'-3' long. 



10. C. Mitohelliana, M.A.Curtis. " Spikes in threes, peduncled, some- 

 what distant, oblong, slightly nodding ; terminal spike staminatc at the base and 

 summit; the lowest peduncle scarcely sheathed; perigynia ovate, acute, gla- 

 brous ; scales oblong, the lowest with a long cusp mu<h exceeding the fruit, the 

 upper about equalling it. — Wet places, Chatham County, North Carolina." 

 Curtis. — Culm slender, 18' high, rough above. Spikes 1' long. 



§ 2 CAREX Proper. Stigmas 3 : nut 3-angled. 



A. Spike solitary. 



* Divccious. 



20. C Boottiana, Bcnth. Culms slender, naked, rough, shorter than the 

 linear bright-green radical leaves; spikes (rarely 2) many-flowered, purplish, 

 cylindrical, erect ; fertile spike dense-flowered ; perigynium obovate, obtuse or 

 abruptly short-beaked, ciliate and 2-toothed at tiie orifice, nerved, pubescent, cili- 

 atc-toothcd on the angles, shorter and narrower than the oblong-acutc or abruptly 

 pointed purple scale. — North Alabama, Peters, and westward. — Culms 6'- 8' 

 long. Spikes l'-2' long. 



* * Afomrcious. Spike sterile above, fertile below. 



21. C. polytrichoides, Muhl. Spike linear, few-flowered; perigynia 

 lanceolate-oblong, many-nerved, obtuse and entire at the apex, twice as long as 

 the oblong mucronate scale ; bract scale-like or occasionally leafy and exceeding 

 the spike; culms tufted, filiforra, weak (6' -12' high), rough above, longer than 

 the very narrow leaves — Bogs and swamps, Florida, and northward. 



22. C. Praseri, Sims. Spike oblong, many-fiowcrcd, the fertile portion 

 globose ; perigynia ovoid, inflated, abruptly short-pointed, longer than the oblong 

 obtuse hyaline scale; leaves very wide (1' or more), obtuse, serrulate and wavy 

 on the margins, convolute below, and sheathing the base of the naked smooth 

 culm. — Shady banks of streams on the mountains of North Carolina. — Leaves 

 C- 12' long, longer than the culm. 



23. C. Steudelii, Kunth. Spike linear (6'^- 10" long); sterile flowers 

 20-25; perigynia 1-4, ovoid, smooth, 3-nerved, abruptly contracted into a 

 slender compressed rough-edged beak, longer than the ovate white green-keeled 

 scale ; leaves linear, flat, abruptly pointed, longer than the bristle-like prostrate 

 culms. — Shady banks, Florida, and westward. — Culms 3' -6' long. Plant 

 whitish. 



24. C. "Willdenovii, Schk. Sterile flowers 4-8, forming a minute linear 

 spike ; perigynia 6-9, oblong, with 3 rough angles ; lower scales longer than 



