1 66 



BRITISH FLORA 



and fields. It was first found between Tunbridge 

 Wells and Erid^e, Sii.-sex, by Mr. Mitten. The 

 plant has the sedge habit. The rootstock is stout 

 and creeping, tufted. The root is fibrous. The 

 plant is slender. The stems are slender, 3-sided, 

 rigid, then curved, roughish above. Tlie leaves 

 are narrow, not so long as the stem, straight, or 

 wavy. The fertile spikes (2-3) are ovate, stalk- 

 less, close, reddish-brown. The male spikelets 

 are stout, solitary. The female are few-flowered, 

 slender. The glumes are broad, chestnut-brown, 

 those of the fertile spikes blunt -notched. The 

 bracts are membranous and small, the lowest awl- 

 like. The fruit is oblong, ovate, longer than the 

 glumes. The nut is pale, and borne on a stalk. 

 The plant is 6-15 in. in height, flowering in April 

 and May, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Pill-headed Sedge (Carex pihUifera, L.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is heaths, wet heaths, woods, 

 and moors. The plant has the sedge habit. The 

 stems are 3-angled, roughish, long, slender, pros- 

 trate at length. The rootstock is tufted. The 

 roots are fibrous. There are no stolons. The 

 leaves form a rosette as a rule, and are broad, 

 short, flat, keeled. The 2-3 fertile spikelets are 

 close, round, stalkless. The bracts are small and 

 awl-like. The male spikes are slender, the female 

 are nearly round. The glumes are brown, spread- 

 ing, with a green midrib with brown edges, or pale. 

 The fruit is opaque, scarcely 3-angled. The nut 

 is brown, and more or less rounded, with a short, 

 notched beak. The plant is 4-15 in. high, flowering 

 in June and Jul)', and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Heath Sedge {Carex ericetorum. Poll.). — The 

 habitat of this sedge is dry places, chalk banks. 

 The plant has the sedge habit. The rootstock is 

 branched, creeping, and tufted. The stems are 

 short, curved, stiff, smooth, 3-angled. The leaves 

 are broad, keeled, bent-back. The bract is glu- 

 maceous, hardly sheathing. The fertile spikelets 

 are few, 1-3, forming a head, 6-io-flowered, small, 

 stalkless, egg-shaped, close. The glume is brown, 

 broadly inversely egg-shaped, blunt, fringed with 

 hairs, the midrib not reaching the top, with mem- 

 branous margins. The fruit is inversely egg- 

 shaped, downy, as long as the glume, opaque, 

 short. The beak is blunt, entire. The nut is 

 stalkless, inversely egg-shaped, 3-sided, pale, with 

 no terminal disk. The plant is 2-6 in. high, flower- 

 ing in May to June, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Carex frigida, Sadl. non All. (= C. Sadleri, 

 Linton = C alpina^ Drej.). — The habitat of this 

 species is wet turf, wet places on Scotch moun- 

 tains. The habit is the usual sedge habit. The 

 stem is smooth, triangular. The leaves are broad, 

 at first parallel-sided. The bracts are sheathing, 

 leafy. The glumes are dark-brown, acute, cylin- 

 drical, long-stalked. The fertile spikes are spindle- 

 shaped, the upper stalkless, the lower drooping 

 at length, long-stalked. There are 1-2 male 

 spikes. The fruit is smooth, lance-shaped, 3- 

 sided, narrowed into a short beak, divided into 

 two. The nut is egg-shaped, 3-angled. The 

 plant is \-\\ ft. in height, flowering in August, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Yellow Sedge (Carex /lava, L.). — This is a 

 native pl.int, found in heaths, bogs, marshes, and 

 wet places. The Yellow Sedge has the usual 

 sedge habit. The rootstock is tufted. There are 

 no stolons. The stems are curved, with acute 

 angles, smooth, 3-angled. The leaves are broad, 

 flat, mainly radical, bent-back, not so long as the 

 stem. The sheaths are short. The bracts are 

 leafy, long. The fertile spikelets are roundish 

 ovate, close. The male are spindle-shaped, the 

 female spreading. The fruit is ovate, ribbed, 

 smooth, inflated, spreading, larger than the glumes. 

 The beak is long, bent downwards. The nut is 

 inversely ovoid, short, 3-angled, with acute angles, 

 olive-brown. The plant is 3-18 in. high, flower- 

 ing between May and July, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Carex CEderi, Retz. — The habitat of this species 

 is bogs, lake margins, and wet places. The plant 

 has the sedge habit. The plant is smaller than 

 the last, and the beak is rough and more straight. 

 The stem is 3-angled, smooth. The fertile spikes 

 are roundish to ovate, close, the lowest having an 

 included stalk. The bracts are leafy with a short 

 sheath. The glumes are blunt-pointed. The fruit 

 is sub-globose, inflated, ribbed, smooth, suddenly 

 narrowed into an erector bent-down beak, narrow 

 and rough at the margin. The nut is inversely 

 ovoid, 3-angled, dotted. The plant is 2-4 in. high, 

 flowering between May and July, and is a herb- 

 aceous perennial. 



Order Graminace^e 



Heath Bentgrass (Agrostis selacea, Curt.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is dry heaths, and downs in 

 the S.W. The plant has the grass habit. The 

 stem is rigid, rough. The leaves are numerous, 

 short, erect, rigid, bristle-like, with rolled-back 

 margins, roughish, bluish-green. The sheaths 

 are rough. The ligule is oblong, acute. The 

 panicle is oblong, close, with short rough branches, 

 and stalks. The glumes are unequal, acute. The 

 empty glumes are rough, nearly awned. The 

 flowering glume has a longer twisted awn, and 

 two tufts of hairs at the base. The palea is very 

 small. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering in 

 July and August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Vernal Hair Grass (Aira prcecox, L.). — The 

 h.abitat of this plant is dry sandy places, pas- 

 tures, &c., and heathy places. The plant has the 

 grass habit. The leaves are narrow, green, with 

 hairless sheaths. The panicle is close, oval, 

 oblong, spike-like, blunt, narrowed, with short 

 branches. The spikelets are 1-2 on each branch, 

 hardly rounded below, narrow. The flowering 

 glume has the tip divided into 2 nearly to the 

 base, short, the awn from near the base of the 

 palea, from below the middle. The plant is 

 1-6 in. high, flowering early (hence pmcox) from 

 .April to July, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Shining Oat Grass (Avcna pratensis, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is dry grassy places, 

 moors and dry pastures, and mountainous places. 

 The habit is the grass habit. The stem is erect, 



