561 
CYPERACEJE. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 
stalks; perigynia oblong-ovoid, 8-10-nerved, very minutely roughened 
with granular dots, the slightly-bent beak tapering to the entire (red¬ 
dish) orifice, longer than the ovate scarcely-pointed purple scale. (C. 
polymdrpha, Muhl. in part. C. strikta, Torr. JV. Y. St. FI. , not of 
Michx.) — Varies, with the fertile spikes filiform, and the flowers al¬ 
ternate and very distant on the rachis. — Upland meadows, W. New 
York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. — Culm rather slender, much 
taller (12 ; - 18') than the rigid leaves. Though a somewhat variable 
plant, it is readily distinguished from the next, with which it has 
been confounded, by the characters here given, especially by the en¬ 
tire, membranaceous orifice of the fruit. 
§ 11. Perigynia moderately inflated, conspicuously many-nerved, smooth 
(except No. 105), with a straight beak terminating in 2 rigid more 
or less spreading teeth : bracts long and leaf-like, with very short 
sheathing bases, much exceeding the culm (about equal to it in No. 
102): staminate spikes 1-5. 
* Perigynia with a very short thick beak, and short and thick slightly- 
spreading teeth. — LxctisTRES. 
102. C. polyividrplia, Muhl. Sterile spikes 2-3, the up¬ 
permost stalked; fertile spikes 1-2, oblong, erect, remote, on very 
short stalks ; perigynia ovoid, abruptly contracted into a slightly serru¬ 
late beak , longer than the pointed purple scale. — New Jersey and 
southward. 
103. C. laciistl’is, Willd. Sterile spikes 2-5, the uppermost 
stalked; fertile spikes 2-3, oblong-cylindrical, stout, erect, remote, 
nearly sessile, or the lowest on a short stalk; perigynia oblong, but 
little exceeding the lanceolate awned scale; culm sharply triangular, 
rough ; sheaths very short, smooth. (C. riphria, Muhl., not of Curtis.) 
— Swamps and borders of lakes and rivers, N. New England to Mich¬ 
igan.— A robust species, 3P-5° high, with leaves wide. 
* * Perigynia with an elongated tapering beak , and long, widely- 
spreading or recurved, sharp and spine-like teeth .— Aristatje. 
Staminate spikes 2-5, one or more of them occasionally bearing a 
few fertile flowers. 
104. C. aristata, R. Brown. Fertile spikes 2-4, cylindrical, 
erect, remote, the lower on partly exserted short stalks; perigynia ta¬ 
pering from an ovoid base into a deeply 2-forked beak, longer than the 
ovate-lanceolate awned scale; culm smooth; sheaths and under sur¬ 
face of the leaves pubescent. (C. atherodes, Spreng.) — Lake shores, 
N. New York to Michigan and northward. — Culm 2P — 3P high: leaves 
2 ,; -3" wide. Fertile spikes 2 f — 3* long, often rather loosely flowered 
towards the base. 
105. C. Striata, Michx. Fertile spikes 2 -3, oblong-cylindrical, 
erect, remote, one of them sometimes staminate at the apex, the lower 
on exserted stalks, rather loosely flowered towards the base; perigy- 
