EE 
SEDGE FAMILY. 281 
Le CLADIUM P. Br. Civ. & Nat. Hist. Jam. 114. 1756. 
Perennial leafy sedges, similar to the Rynchosporas, the spikelets oblong or fusiform, 
few-flowered, variously clustered. Scales imbricated all around, the lower empty, the mid- 
dle ones mostly subtending imperfect flowers, the upper usually fertile. Perianth none. 
Stamens 2 or sometimes 3. Style 2-3-cleft, deciduous from the summit of the achene, its 
branches sometimes 2-3-parted. Achene ovoid or globose, smooth or longitudinally striate. 
Tubercle none. [Greek, referring to the branched inflorescence of some species. ] 
About 30 species, natives of tropical and temperate regions. Besides the following, another oc- 
curs in the southern United States and one in California. 
1. Cladium mariscoides (Muhl.) Torr. QY (jj / | 
Twig-rush. (Fig. 661.) Nis WW | 
] 
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Schoenus mariscotdes Muhl. Gram. 4. _ 1817. Nc f 
Cladium mariscoides Torr. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. 3: 372. 1836. / 
Culm slender, erect, rather stiff, obscurely 3-angled, x i 
smooth, 134°-3° tall. Leaves about 1’ wide, concave, 
with a long compressed tip, nearly smooth; umbels 
2 or 3, compound, the 1 or 2 axillary, slender stalked; 
spikelets oblong, narrowed at both ends, acute, 214’’ ff | 
long, capitate in 3’s—r1o’s on the raylets; scales chest- fff} . | 
nut-brown, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acute, the mid- ff 
vein slightly excurrent; upper scale subtending a Jif 
) 
/| 
perfect flower with 2 stamens and a filiform 3-cleft 
style, the next lower one with 2 stamens and an ab- f A. 
ortive ovary; achene ovoid, acute, finely longitudi- / ii} . 
nally striate, about 1/’ long. y, | NA 
In marshes, Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota, / i 
south to Florida and Iowa. July—Sept. 
XN 
16. SCLERIA Berg, Kongl. Acad. Sv. Handl. 26: 142. pl. 4,5. 1765. 
Leafy sedges, mostly perennial by rootstocks, the spikelets small, clustered in terminal, 
or terminal and axillary fascicles, or sometimes interruptedly spicate. Flowers monoecious, 
the staminate and pistillate spikelets separated or borne in the same clusters. Fertile spike- 
lets 1-flowered. Staminate spikelets many-flowered. Scales imbricated all around, the 
1-3 lower and sometimes also the upper ones of the fertile spikeletsempty. Perianth none. 
Style 3-cleft, slender or sometimes swollen at the base, deciduous. Ovary supported on a 
disk (hypogynium), or this wanting. Stamens 1-3. Achene globose or ovoid, obtuse, crus- 
taceous or bony, white in our species. [Greck, in allusion to the hard fruit. ] 
About 100 species, natives of tropical and temperate regions. Besides the following, some 4 
others occur in the southern United States. 
Spikelets in terminal, or terminal and lateral clusters; achene supported on a hypogynium. 
Achene smooth. 
Hypogynium supporting 8 or 9 small tubercles under the achene. 1. S. oligantha. 
Hypogynium covered with a rough white crust. 2. S. triglomerata. 
Achene reticulated or irregularly rugose. 
Culms erect or ascending; achene reticulated; leaves 1'’-114'’ wide. 3. S. reticularis. 
Culms spreading; achene irregularly rugose; leaves 2''-4'’ wide. 4. S. Torreyvana. 
Achene papillose. 5. S. paucifiora. 
Spikelets interruptedly glomerate-spicate; no hypogynium. 6. S. verticillata. 
1. Scleria oligantha Michx. Few-flowered 
Nut-rush. (Fig. 662.) 
Scleria oligantha Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 167. 1803. 
Rootstocks thick, hard, clustered. Culms slender, 
erect, sharply 3-angled, nearly smooth, 1144°-2%° 
tall, the angles somewhat winged. Leaves smooth or 
slightly rough at the apex, 2//-3/’ wide, the lower 
short, acute, the upper elongated; clusters terminal, 
usually also 1 or 2 axillary, and filiform-stalked; 
bracts slightly ciliate or glabrous; achene ovoid, ob- 
tuse but sometimes pointed, bright white, smooth, 
shining; hypogynium a narrow obtusely triangular 
border supporting 8 or 9 small tubercles under the 
achene. 
In moist soil, Virginia to Florida and Texas, near the 
coast. June-Aug. 
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