194 CAEEX OENITHOPODA AS A BRITISH PLANT. 



saw-like teeth, tlie sheath wider, transparent, the central part veined 

 and blotched with vinous-red, the margin rather wide scarious colour- 

 less, continued into a very short prominent ridge-like ligule. Flower- 

 ing Iranches 2 to 5 on each shoot, from the axils of the lower leaves 

 and exceeding them in length, 3-5 ins. long, slender, somewhat arched, 

 slightly rough, oval on section, clothed at the base with three or four 

 rudimentary leaves, the lowest one broadest and scaly, the two upper 

 with a very short subulate green blade and prominent ligule. Injlo- 

 rescence consisting of a terminal erect slender very short male spike 

 not \ inch long ; and 3 (more rarely 2) lateral female spikes, each sub- 

 tended by a sheathing scaly bract, short but much larger than the stalk 

 of the spikes when present, sessile or very sliortly stalked, closely 

 approximated, erect or slightly arched, spreading, and even when 

 in early flower exceeding the male spike; rachis rather zigzag, 

 2-angular, angles rough with forward bristles, Male flowers not 

 numerous, densely imbricate, scales variable in form, usually 

 oblong acute with a green midrib not reaching the apex, orange-brown 

 on each side and a white scarious margin, two lowest scales larger and 

 much broader, reaching | length of the spike ; stamens 3 exserted ; 

 filaments white. Female floioers 3 to 5 in each spike, loosely imbri- 

 cate, rather divaricate ; scales broadly obovate, blunt or subacute, 

 midrib green with orange-brown on each side and white borders ; 

 perigynium strongly 2-veined ; style exserted purple, dividing into 3 

 hairy branches deciduous. Fruit^ pyriform-obovoid, lenticulo-triangular 

 on section, usually somewhat gibbous on the upper surface above, the 

 base prolonged and tapering, the apex rounded, pale olive green, set 

 with scattered very short white hairs principally on the two smaller 

 sides, exceeding the scales hj \ or more of their length, capped hy the 

 very short and small {red) base of the style ; nut triangular, not taper- 

 ing, sides oval, supported on a long stalk and closely filling upper part 

 of the utricle. 



It will be seen that the points of difference between this species 

 and C. digitata, L., besides its smaller size and slenderer habit, are the 

 following : — Ehizome shorter, with less developed internodes, bracts 

 shorter, inflorescence much closer, with the female spikes shorter, more 

 curved, and nearly sessile, ?with the flowers more closely placed, scales 

 of the female flowers smaller and paler in colour, considerably shorter 

 than the fruit, whilst in C. digitata they usually quite equal it ; fruit 

 smaller and paler, with a decidedly shorter point ; the nuts, according 

 to M. Crepin, who has carefully compared perfectly ripe Belgian 

 examples, do not materially differ in the two species, either in form 

 or size. The name ornithopoda is very expressive of the bird's-foot- 

 like character of the inflorescence in a young stage, which is some- 

 what lost when the fruit ripens. 



Although so closely allied, no forms have been observed in any way 

 intermediate between the two species. Specimens of C. digitata not 

 very unfrequently exhibit shorter female scales than the type (var. 

 intermedia, Crepin, Notes, fasc. i., p. 26), but in other respects such 

 plants show no approach to C. ornithopoda. 



None of the fruit^was quite ripe in the specimens described. 



