525 
CYPERACEJS. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 
proliferous, 15-25 -flowered; bristles nearly as long as the obovate- 
oblong (obtusely triangular) nut without the tubercle; scales dark 
chestnut-color.” — Wet places, in the Pine barrens of New Jersey, 
Torrey. 
7 • SCIRPUS, L. Bulrush. Club-rush. 
Spikes many-several-flowered, terete, mostly clustered and 
subtended by one or more involucral leaves, sometimes single, 
often appearing lateral from the extension of the involucral leaf 
like a continuation of the culm. Scales regularly imbricated all 
round in several ranks. Perianth of 3 - 6 bristles. Stamens 3. 
Style 2 - 3-cleft, simple, not bulbous at the base, wholly decidu¬ 
ous, or leaving a persistent jointless base as a continuous tip or 
point to the lenticular or triangular achenium. — Culms sheathed 
at the base, the sheaths usually leaf-bearing. Chiefly perennial. 
(The Latin name of the Bulrush. 
§ 1. Scirpus proper. — Bristles rigid, mostly barbed downwards. 
* Spike single, terminal, with the lowest empty scale or a distinct bract 
equalling or overtopping it: culms slender, jointless, leaf-bearing only 
at the base (style 2-cleft: achenium triangular, smooth). 
1. S. csespitdsus, L. (Alpine Club-rush.) Culms terete, 
wiry, densely sheathed at the base, in compact turfy tufts (3'-1 O' 
high); the upper sheath prolonged into a short awl-shaped leaf; spike 
ovoid, 3-8-flowered, rusty-color, the 2 lower scales bract-like, callous- 
pointed, and as long as the spike ; bristles 6, smooth, capillary, longer 
than the abruptly short-pointed achenium. — Alpine tops of mountains 
of Maine {Young, Thurber), New Hampshire, and N. New York. 
2. S. plantfolius, Muhl. Culms triangular, loosely tufted 
(5 f -10' high), leafy at the base; leaves linear, flat, as long as the 
culm, rough on the edges and keel, as is the culm; spike ovate or ob¬ 
long, 5 - 7-flowered, rusty-color; scales ovate, with a strong green 
keel prolonged into an awned tip, the lowest about as long as the 
spike; bristles 4-6, upwardly hairy, as long as the blunt achenium. 
— Dry or moist woods, not rare eastward. June. 
3. S. Slibteroninalis, Torr. Culms (1° - 3° long) and slen¬ 
der terete leaves immersed and cellular; spike overtopped by a green 
bract , which appears like a prolongation of the culm, oblong, several- 
flowered ; scales scarcely pointed; bristles 6, bearded downwards, 
rather shorter than the abruptly-pointed achenium. — Slow streams 
and ponds, New England to Michigan : the apex only of the culm 
projecting above the water. Aug. 
♦ * Spikes clustered (;rarely reduced to one), appearing lateral by the ex- 
