THE BRITISH CAREX FRIGIDA. 



43 



mens of C. frigida All. from different countries ; from Italy (2), 

 from Styria (1), from the Tirol (5), Baden (1), Vosges (2), S.E. 

 France (2), and Switzerland (5); and I have found the uniformity 

 in the shape of the nut well exemplified. Whenever the nut was 

 mature, the whole length came out | in., the nut without the stipe 

 Jg- in., and the stipe gn i"- ^^ thereabouts. The stipe was most 

 liable to variation, but the variation was small even here. In 

 C. frigida Syme there was of course no series to examine, but a 

 number of ripe fruits have been studied, with the result given 

 above, nut -^q in. or very nearly, scarcely stipitate, the stipe being 

 J-Q in. approximately. With such a remarkable divergence in the 

 fruit, it is impossible to regard C. frigida Syme as the same species 

 with C. frigida All. The wonder is how the confusion should ever 

 have arisen. 



Is, then, C. frigida Syme a new species, or, if not, to what 

 species must it be assigned ? I have already stated that supposed 

 specimens of 0. frigida, gathered since Sadler's discovery, have 

 usually been relegated to C. binervis Sm.; and as there seems to be 

 no nearer alliance, at least in the British list, I proceed to give a 

 comparison of the crucial points : — 



Eootstock 



Stem 



Glume of 

 male spikelet 



Perigynia .... 



Nut 



C. frigida All. 



Stoloniferous. 



8-20 in. 



Lanceolate, usually 

 acute. 



-I in. long, lanceo- 

 late, beak scabrid 

 pi. m. 



\ in.long,long-stipi- 

 tate, subobtuse 

 above, more gradu- 

 ally narrowed be- 

 low to the slender 

 stipe. 



G. frigida Syme. 



Tufted. 

 8-30 in. 



C. binervis Sm. 



Tufted. 

 10-36 in. 



Obovate-oblong, ob- Obov.-oblongor obl.- 

 tuse or rounded. \ lanceolate, obtuse 

 or rounded. 



-i in., narrowly 

 oval-lanceolate, 

 beak almost or 

 quite smooth. 



V in., substipitate, 

 oval-oblong, ob- 

 tuse, narrowed be- 

 low to the very 

 short stipe. 



-I in., ovate-acumi- 

 nate, beak smooth 

 or nearly so. 



Jy in., substipitate, 

 rather broadly oval- 

 oblong, obtuse above, 

 narrowed below to 

 the very short stout 

 stipe. 



It will be seen from the above comparative table that, while 

 0. frigida Syme differs from C. frigida All. in most of the characters 

 mentioned, it agrees with C. binervis in every point except the peri- 

 gynia, which are much narrower and also less markedly 2-nerved, 

 and in the nut, which is also narrower. It is in fact either a species 

 closely allied to C. binervis Sm. or else a variety of C. binervis, 

 growing in alpine situations ; and since it maintains its distinctive 

 features after years of cultivation, and comes true, as I have proved, 

 from seed, it deserves to be maintained, whether as an allied species 

 or a variety ; and I propose to call it C. Sadleri (or C. binervis Sm. 



E 2 



