554 
CYPERACEJE. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 
narrowed at each end: culms numerous, diffuse and at length quite 
prostrate : leaves all radical , very broad , finely and closely nerved 
throughout, with 3 distinct ribs. — Plantagine^:. 
71. C. plantaginea, Lam. Fertile spikes commonly 4, oh- 
l° n g } about 5 -8-flowered ; bracts very shorty dark purpley or the low¬ 
est greenish at the apex. (C. latifolia, Schk.) — Shady woods, mostly 
on hill-sides in rich soil, New England to Penn, and northward. 
72. C. Carey ana, Dew. Fertile spikes 2-3, ovoid or oblongs 
about 3-5-flowered, bracts green , the upper about equal to the spikes, 
the lower somewhat exceeding them; perigynia large (2-2^'in 
length) ; leaves dark green. — In similar situations with the last, Au¬ 
burn, and in Jefferson county, New York : also in Ohio. 
73. C* platyphylla, Carey. Fertile spikes Syfiliformy loosely 
3- A-flowered; bracts as in the last; perigynia small ; culms slender; 
leaves pale or whitish-green. — Found in similar situations with No. 71, 
and with the same range. 
* * Sterile spike short, club-shaped, pedunculate: fertile spikes 2-4, 
all on filiform exserted stalks , with long sheathing bracts resembling 
the leaves , the uppermost, as well as the leaves, exceeding the slen¬ 
der and at length prostrate culms: perigynia as in the last subsec¬ 
tion. — DigitAles. 
^ retr °curva, Dew. Fertile spikes ovoid or oblong, com¬ 
pactly 3-8 -flowered y on long drooping stalks: leaves glaucous , 3-4 
lines wide , with 3 prominent nerves. — Copses and hill-sides, New 
ngland to W. New York.— Very closely approaching, and perhaps 
only a variety of, the next. 
'o. C* digitalis, Willd. Fertile spikes linear-oblong , loosely 
6 - ^-flowered, on long stalks, the lowest sometimes drooping; leaves 
and. bracts narroWy dark green; perigynia smaller than in the last. 
(C. oligocArpa, Schw. Torr.y not of Schk. C. Vanvl6ckii, Schw.) - 
Copses and hill-sides, New England to Michigan. —A low species, 
6'- 12' high, growing in tufts, with numerous culms and long grassy 
leaves. 
* * * Sterile spike short, linear; fertile spikes 2-4, erect , the 1- 2 up¬ 
permost commonly near the base of the sterile, on an included 
stalk, the rest on exserted stalks, with long sheathing bracts resem¬ 
bling the leaves , the uppermost exceeding the erect culm: perigynia 
with obtuse angles , about the length of the scale. — OligocaRP*. 
76. C. since ps, Willd. Fertile spikes slender , loosely flowered 
on a zigzag rachis ; perigynia ovoid , narrowed at each end. — Var. 1* 
striatula has the spikes oblong , more densely flowered, and the 
perigynia obovoid with a shorter point. (C. stridtula, Michx. C.co- 
noidea, Muhl ., not of Schk t C. blanda, Dew.) — Yar. 2. patulifolia, 
Dew., has the radical leaves very broad many-nerved, with a 
rather longer point. (C. plantaginea, Schk. t not of Lam.)—Open 
