LAKES, RIVERS, DITCHES, ETC. 



117 



The rays are few, short, simple as a rule. The 

 bracts are 3, leal'-hke, unequal, broad below, curved 

 and spreading-. The spikelets arc crowded, 

 slender, linear to lancc-shapcd, in small round 

 heads or corymbs at the end of the branches. 

 The glumes are numerous, spreadingf at length, 

 fuscous, the midrib broad or n.irrow, with green 

 keels oblong to ov.ate. There arc 3 stigmas. The 

 nut is small and white. The plant is 3-10 in., 

 flowering in August and September, and is a 

 herbaceous annual. 



Needle Spike Rush (Ilclcocharisacicularis, Br.). 

 ^Tlie habitat of this plant is the s.indy edges of 

 lakes and pools, wet places on heaths. The plant 

 has the rush habit. The root is fibrous with 

 slender runners, the rootstock being stoloniferous. 

 The stems are bristle-like, slender, numerous, 

 erect, and in water i ft. long, bluntly 4-angled, 

 grooved. The sheaths are membranous, acute. 

 The spikelets are very small, flattened, reddish- 

 brown. There are 3 stignicis. The glumes are 

 blunt, ovate, the broadest ones below. There .are 

 1-3 bristles, which are short and deciduous. The 

 nut is small, round above, inversely ovate to 

 oblong, flattened longitudinally, 3-angled, ribbed 

 and transversely furrowed, with the stjle top- 

 shaped at the base. The plant is 2-8 in. high, 

 flowering in June, July, and .August, and is a herb- 

 aceous perennial or annual. 



Scirpus pimgens, Roth. (= S. Rolhii, Hoppe = 5. 

 americanus, Pers.). — The habitat of this pl.int is 

 sand}' banks, pond sides. The pl.ant has the bul- 

 rush habit. The stems are acutely 3-sidcd, slender. 

 There are 2-3 long, narrow, linear, channelled, 

 keeled leaves. There are several sheaths. The 

 spikelets are few, stalkless, lateral, large, blunt, 

 ovate. The bracts are very long' and slender. 

 The glumes are notched, blunt-pointed, smooth, 

 with 2 acute lobes, ovate, reddish-bro-wn. The 

 anther-tips are acute. There are 1-2 bristles. 

 The nut is inversely ovoid, pale, plano-convex, 

 smooth. The plant is 6-18 in. high, flowering in 

 June and July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Broad-leaved Water Sedge (Carex anila, L. = 

 C. graciUs, Curt.). — The habitat of this plant is 

 wet places. The rootstock is tufted with or with- 

 out stolons. The stems are 3-sided, rough at the 

 top. The leaves are broad, long, as long as the 

 stem, limp, the lowest sheaths sometimes leafless, 

 with the edges not filamentous. The spikelets 

 arc numerous, inclined, long, long-stalked, the 

 barren spikelets 2-3, stout or slender, the fertile 

 2-4, slender, cylindrical, distant, erect in fruit, 

 with a few male flowers at the top, nodding in 

 flower. The lowermost bract is leaflike, over- 

 topping the stem, and with long auricles. The 

 glumes are blunt, acute, purple, with a green 

 midrib, narrow, lance-shapcd. The fruit is oblong, 

 lenticular, veined, pale, blunt or acute, round or 

 oval, spherical or flattened, with 3-5 ribs and a 

 smooth beak. The nut is plano-convex, round to 

 inversely ovoid, with a short slender beak. The 

 plant is 2-3 ft. high, flowering in May and June, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Carex Irinervis, Degl. — The habitat of this plant 



is wet sandy places. The plant is stoloniferous. 

 The rootstock is stout. The stem is 3-angled, 

 tulted. The leaves are narrow, smooth, keeled. 

 The sheaths are not fibrous. The spikelets are 

 stout, close, erect. There are 2-4 males, 2-5 

 female, which are stalkless, oblong, cylindric, 

 short and stout, male at the top, stalkless. The 

 lower bract is slender, stiff, longer than the .spike- 

 let, and not sheathing, auricled. The fruit is 

 ellipsoid, oblong, flattened, 3-5-veined, with a 

 ver)' short beak, brownish-green. The nut is 

 longer than broad, narrowed into the beak, with 

 a very short beak, lenticular, brown, dotted. The 

 plant is 6 10 in. high, flowering in July and August, 

 and is .a horb.ueous perennial. 



Cyperns Sedge (Carex Pseudocyperus, L.).— The 

 habitat of this sedge is b.inks of rivers, lakes, 

 d.'xmp places, margins of stagn.ant pools, often in 

 woods. The stem is stout, 3-sided, with rough 

 angles. The plant is ycUowish-grccn. The root- 

 stock is tufted. The leaves are broad, flat, rough. 

 The 3-6 fertile spikelets are cylindrical, spreading, 

 dense-flowered, close, pale-green, drooping, long- 

 stalked, thread-like, curved, the male spikelets 

 solitary, slender, pale, sometimes with fertile 

 flowers, all towards the top of the stem. The 

 bracts overtop the stem, and are scarcely sheath- 

 ing, Icaflike. The glumes are yellowish-green, 

 bristle-like, rough, swollen at the base, small, 

 lance-shapcd or awl-like. The awn is coarsely 

 toothed. The fruit is spreading, ovoid to lance- 

 shaped, oblong, narrow, ribbed, shining-green, 

 with a long beak, which is deeply divided into 2, 

 rigid, pungent. The nut is pale, 3-angled, elliptic. 

 The style is persistent. The plant is 1-3 ft. high, 

 flowering in June, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Lesser River Sedge (Carex paludosa. Good. = 

 C. acuti/ormis, Ehrh. ). — The habitat of this plant 

 is river-banks and ditches, margins of streams, 

 and wet places. It is a tall, stout plant, with a 

 creeping rootstock, bearing stolons. The stems 

 are 3-sided, rough on the angles, which are acute. 

 The leaves are broad, bluish-green, erect, flat, the 

 sheaths sometimes leafless, with filamentous edges. 

 The male spikelets are stout, dark-brown, some- 

 times with fertile spikelets at the base, the glumes 

 brown, blunt. The fertile spikelets .are cylindric- 

 al, blunt, shortly-stalked. The glumes of the 

 female spikelets are blunt-pointed. The anthers 

 are apicul.ate. There are 2-3 stigmas. The fruit 

 is ovoid, ribbed, longer than the glumes, which 

 are lance-sh.aped and awncd, 3-angled, narrowed 

 to the beak, with acute angles, the upper part 

 granulate. The nut is lenticular or 3-sided. The 

 beak is short, with 2 teeth. The plant is 2-3 ft. 

 high, flowering between May and July, and is a 

 herbaceous perennial. 



Great River Sedge (Carex riparia, Curtis). — 

 The habit.at of this plant is river-banks, ditches, 

 river margins, and wet places. The plant is tall, 

 stout, with a creeping, tufted rootstock. The 

 stem is 3-sided, rough on the angles. The leaves 

 are bro;id, flat, bluish-green, with the edges of the 

 she.iths filamentous. The m.ale spikelets are stout, 

 3-6, close, dark-brown, acute, with fertile spike- 



