616 CYPERACE^. (sedge FAMILY.) 



* 11. — •»- 4. Arenarice. 



C. ^renXria, Linn. Extensively creeping, 1° high or less; leaves verj' 

 narrow and very long-pointed, shorter than the culm; head about 1' long, 

 dense or sometimes interrupted, ovoid or oblong ; spikes few to many, tiiose 

 at the apex of tne head usually staminate, the iuterniediate ones staminate at 

 the summit, tlie lowest entirely pistillate and subtended by a bract about 1' 

 long; perigynium very strongly nerved on both faces, wing-margined above, 

 sharply long-tootlied, about tlie length of the scale. — ISea-beaches near Nor- 

 folk, Va. (jJcJIinn). (Adv. from Eu.) 



* 11. — -i- 5. Muhlenberg ianoe. 



■w. Heads narrow, the spikes scattered {or often aggregated in C. muricata.j 



= Perigynium almost terete. 



109. C. tenella, Schkuhr. Exceedingly slender, 6'-2° high, in tufts; leaves 

 fiat, soft, and weak, mostly shorter than the culm ; spikes 1 - 3-llowered, or 

 the terminal 4 - 6-flowered, all distinct and scattered on the upper part of the 

 culm, the bracts obsolete or the lowest present and very short ; perigynium 

 elliptic-ovate, very plump, finely nerved, the minute beak entire, longer than 

 the white scale, usually at length splitting and exposing the blackish acheue. 

 — Cold swamps, X. Eng. to Penn., and far westward ; common. (Eu.) 



= ^= Perigynium Jlattish. 



110. C. rosea, Schkuhr. Always slender and weak, erect, 1-2|° high, 

 exceeding tlie narrow leaves; spikes 5-8, 6- 14-fiowered, the upper 3-4 ag- 

 gregated, the others 3 - 9'' apart, the lowest usually with a setaceous bract ; 

 perigynium lance-ovate, thin and shining, nerveless, scarcely margined, rough 

 on tlie edges above, perfectly squarrose, very green, about twice longer than 

 the translucent white scale. — Rich Avoods, N. Eng. to Minn, and Neb. ; fre- 

 quent. — Var. radiXta, Dewey. LoAver and much more slender, the culms 

 sometimes almost capillary ; spikes 2-5, scattered, 2 - 4-floAvered ; perigynium 

 mostly narrower and more ascending. Open places and drier woods ; common. 



Var. Texensis, Torr. Very slender but strict, 1° high or less; spikes 

 3-4, all contiguous or the lower ones approximate, 2 - 6-flowered ; perigynium 

 lanceolate, the base prominently spongy, smooth or nearly so, conspicuously 

 divaricate. — Dry places, S. 111. (Schneck), and southward, 



Var. retroflexa, Torr. Often rather stiff, 1 - 1|° high; spikes 4-8, the 

 upper ones aggregated, the lower 1 or 2 separated and commonly subtended 

 by a conspicuous bract, often brownish ; perigynium ovate, smooth through- 

 out, very prominently corky and swollen at the base, Avhicli is frequently con- 

 tracted almost to a stipe, at maturity usually widely spreading or reflexed ; scale 

 broAvnish and sharp, at length deciduous. (C. retroflexa, il/w/iZ.) — Copses, 

 throughout ; rare northAvard. 



111. C. Sparganioides, Muhl. Stouter, stiff ; culm 2 - 3° high ; leaves 

 very broad (usually ^' or more) and flat, their sheaths conspicuously clothing 

 the base of the culm ; spikes 6-10, the 2 or 3 upper ones contiguous, the remain- 

 der entirely separate, very green, oblong or short-cylindric, the lowest often 

 compound, all truncate at top ; perigynium ovate, Aving-margined, rough on 

 the short beak, often obscurely nerA-ed on the outer face, considerably longer 

 than the rough-pointed scale. — Rich Avoods ; frequent. 



C. MURK \ta, L. Culm 1 -2° high, rough, longer than the narroAV leaves; 

 spikes 5-10, variously disposed, but usually some of them scattered, frequently 



