CYPERACE^. 



•391 



3. MARISCUS. Vahl.—Mariscus. 



.(From the Celtic mar, a marsh ; in allusion to the place of growth of some 

 species.) 



Spikelets few-flowered, clustered in heads. Scales somewhat 



imbricate in two rows ; the lower ones short and empty. 



Stamens sometimes 2. Style trifid. Achenium triquetrous. 



1. M. ovularis Vahl: umbel simple, of 1 — 6 short rays; involucre 3 — 4- 

 leaved ; heads globose, compact ; spikelets terete, 2 — 4 flowered, radiated ; 

 scales ovate, rather obtuse. Scirp^ts ovularis Linn. Ki/llingia ovularis 

 Mich. Cyperus ovularis Torr. 



Sandy soils. N. Y. to Flor. W. to Ark. July, Aug. %. — Rkizoma short and 

 tuberous. Cidm 6 — 18 inches high, triangular, nearly naked. Leaves keeled, 

 nearly smooth. Spikelets very numerous, 2— 4-flowered, usually only one or two 

 fertile, short and thick. Egg-shaped Mariscus. 



2. M. retr of r actus Vahl : umbel simple, of numerous elongated rays ; in- 

 volucre 3-leaved ; heads obovate, retrorsely imbricate ; spikelets nearly 

 terete, subulate, 1-flowered ; two lowest scales very short, the uppermost 

 one very narrow and involute. Scirpus retrofractus Linn. Cypertis rctro- 

 fractus Torr. 



Wet grounds. N. Y. to Flor. W. to Ark. July, Aug. %.—Culm 2—3 feet 

 high, obtusely triangular. Leaves mostly radical, half as long as the culm. 

 Spikelets very numerous, slender, the uppermost ones spreading horizontally, 

 the rest bent backwards against the peduncle. Bent-fiowered Mariscus. 



4. KYLLINGIA. /^mw.— Kyllingia. 

 (Named in honor of Peter Kylling, a Danish botanist.) 



Spikelets distinct, disposed in a roundish sessile subimbri- 

 cate spike. Scales 2-valved, 1-flowered. Paleee 2, longer 

 than the scales. 



K. monocephala Linn. : stem filiform, triangular ; involucre 3-leaved ; one 

 of the leaves erect, the others horizontal ; head globose, compact ; spikelets 

 laflowered, ovoid, acuminate ; scales ciliate, nerved. 



Moist grounds. N. J. to Geor. June. '2|.. — Root creeping, stoloniferous- 

 Culm about a foot high. Leaves narrow, shorter than the culm. Head always 

 single, mostly inclining to one side. Supposed to be distinct from the foreign 

 plant. One-headed Kyllingia. 



II. SciRPE^. Flowers perfect. Scales mostly imbricate on all 

 sides. Perigynium composed of bristles hairs or scales, sometimes 

 wanting. 



5. ELEOCHARIS. Brovm.— Spike Rush. 



(From the Greek cXoj, eXsoj. a 7narsh ; and %«'?«, to delight hi ; in allusion to 

 the place of growth.) 



Scales imbricate on all sides, or imperfectly bifarious. Bris- 

 tles 3 — 12, (rarely wanting,) rigid and persistent, usually rough 



