SEDGE FAMILY. 271 
28. Scirpus cyperinus (l,.) Kunth. Wool-grass. (Fig. 636.) 
Eriophorum cyperinum 1. Sp. Pl. Ed. 2,77. 1762. ———— ——<—— 
Scirpus cyperinus Kunth, Enum. 2:170. — 1837. 
Scirpus Eriophorum var. cyperinus A. Cae Man. Ed. "\ af) 
2,501. 1856. x) 
Perennial by stout rootstocks, culms stout or slen- “Sea K \ \ 
der, smooth, obtusely triangular or nearly terete, rh 
stiff, leafy, 2°-6° tall. Leaves elongated, 2//-3’” wide, 
rough-margined, the upper often overtopping the 
culm, those of the involucre 3-6, the longer much ex- 
ceeding the inflorescence; umbel terminal, com- 
pound, the rays at length somewhat drooping; spike- 
lets ovoid-oblong, obtuse, 114’’-2!4’’ long, in capitate 
clusters of 3-15 at the ends of the raylets; scales ovate 
or lanceolate, acute or subacute; bristles 6, entangled, 
smooth, much longer than the achene, much exserted 
beyond the scales and grayish-brown at maturity; 
stamens 3; style 3-cleft; achene 3-angled, oblong, 
slender-beaked, nearly white. yi + 
In swamps, Newfoundland to Ontario, Virginia and AIKEN 
Kentucky. Aug.—Sept. y om 
Scirpus cypérinus Eriophorum (Michx.) Britton, Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 11:82. 1892. 
Scirpus Eriophorum Michx. F\. Bor. Am. 1: 33. _1803. 
Eriophorum cyperinum var. laxum Wats. & Coult. in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 6, 582. 1890. 
Spikelets mostly peduncled. Range of the type, but extending to Florida and Louisiana. 
10. ERIOPHORUM L. Sp. Pl. 52.1753. 
Bog sedges, perennial by rootstocks, the culms erect, triangular or nearly terete, the 
leaves linear, or 1 or 2 of the upper ones reduced to bladeless sheaths. Spikelets terminal, 
solitary, capitate or umbelled, subtended by a 1-several-leaved involucre, or naked. Scales 
spirally imbricated, usually all fertile. Flowers perfect. Periauth of 6 or numerous filiform 
smooth soft bristles, which are white or brown, straight or crisped, and exserted much 
beyond the scales at maturity. Stamens1-3. Style 3-cleft. Achene 3-angled, oblong, ellip- 
soid or oboyoid. [Greek, signifying wool-bearing, referring to the soft bristles. ] 
About to species, in the northern hemisphere. Besides the following, one occurs in Alaska. 
Spikelet solitary; involucral leaf short or none. 
Bristles only 6, white, crisped, very long. 1. £, alpinum, 
Bristles numerous, straight or slightly crisped. 
Bristles bright white. 
Culm with 2 inflated bladeless sheaths; achene obovoid, obtuse. 2. 2. vaginatum. 
Only the upper sheath bladeless, or all blade-bearing; achene linear-oblong, acute. 
3. E. Scheuchzert, 
Bristles reddish-brown. 4. £2. russeolum, 
Spikelets several, umbellate or capitate; involucre 1-4-leaved. 
Achene obovoid, obtuse; spikelets umbellate. . EB. polystachyon. 
Achene linear- oblong, acute; spikelets capitate or some of them peduncteds 
Leaves channeled; bristles 4-6 times as long as the scale, bright white. 6. Es gracile. 
Leaves flat; bristles 3 times as long as the scale, brown (rarely white). 7. £. i. Virginicu m. 
1. Eriophorum alpinum [L. Alpine Cotton-grass. ae 637.) 
Eriophorum alpinum V,. Sp. Pl. 53. 1753- 
Perennial by short rootstocks, sending up numer- 
ous filiform triangular roughish culms, 6/-10’ high. 
Leaves subulate, 3//-10’’ long, triangular, chan- 
neled, borne very near the base of the culm, the 
lower sheaths often scarious and bladeless; spikelet 
solitary, terminal, small, erect; involucral bract sub- 
ulate, mostly shorter than the spikelet, sometimes 
wanting; young spikelet ovoid-oblong, subacute; 
scales oblong lanceolate, yellowish-brown, firm, ob- 
tuse or subacute, the midvein slender; bristles 6, 
white, crisped, 4~7 times as long as the scale; achene 
narrowly obovoid-oblong, brown, apiculate, dull. 
In bogs and on high mountains, Newfoundland to 
Hudson Bay and the Northwest Territory, south to Ver- 
mont, northern New York and Minnesota. Also in 
Europe and Asia. Summer. 
15 
