﻿Hill: Eleocharis melaxocarpa a proliferous Plant 393 



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Bunches 



sometimes occur a foot and more in diameter. In the case 

 of the proliferous clusters, though several of the stems might 

 be provided with spikes, these were nearly always fruitless, the 

 scales being empty or the flowers or aborted fruit only present. 

 But a few perfect achenes, perhaps but one, appeared in a spike 

 even when the fruit matured. The strength of the plant was ex- 

 pended on the proliferous stems. Spikeless stems which might 

 have rooted had they bent over and reached the ground often stood 

 erect among the stems bearing the empty heads. The proliferous 

 stems vary in length from 3 to 1 1 decimeters. They are gradu- 

 ally and uniformly recurved, arching over till the end comes in 

 contact with the soil. Though the erect stems are mostly shorter, 

 they are in many cases as long as the recurved. In no case did 

 these seem the weaker of the two, the diameter of the stems being 

 substantially the same in both. After the curvature has begun 

 and the stems have increased in length they might relatively be 

 called weaker, and would come more under the influence of 

 gravity and the end be pulled downward. But from the initiatory 

 steps and the regularity of the curve, almost a perfect bow, the stems 

 manifest a geotropic habit, the necessities of the additional mode of 

 propagation inducing a movement toward the ground. 



The barren stems produce at the tip two scales relatively prom- 

 'nent and facing each other with their sides in the plane of the 

 flattened sides of the stem. Where spikes are developed, these two 

 scales are usually larger and thicker than those subsequently 

 formed, appearing like small involucral scales at the base of the 

 he ad. The scales of the spikeless stems inclose a few others which 

 are small, thin, and hyaline. From three to six shoots spring from 

 th eir axils when they become proliferous, taking the place of the 

 achenes. They are minute bulblets starting from a bud encased 

 ln a thin, outer enveloping scale which grows in length and forms 

 the sheath surrounding the base of the stem. At the base of the 

 hu lblet a small projection appears, showing the beginning of the 

 r °ot system. (Fig. 5, a.) Some of the bulblets may show these 

 Protuberances before the roots on any of the clusters have burst 

 ut and connected the plants with the ground. The young stems 

 m ay be an inch or two high before roots appear. The bulblets 



