SEDGE FAMILY. 327 
106. Carex Méadii Dewey. Mead’s Sedge. (Fig. 776.) 
Carex Meadti Dewey, Am. Journ. Sci. 43:90. 1842. 
Carex tetanica var. Meadti Bailey, Proc. Am. Acad. 22: 
118. 1886. 
Carex tetanica var. Carteri Porter, Proc. Acad. Phila. 
1887: 76. 1887. 
Carex telanica var. Canbyi Porter, Proc. Acad. Phila. 
1887: 76. 1887. 
Similar to the preceding species, culm stouter, 
very rough above, 12/’-18/ tall. Basal leaves usually 
shorter than the culm; bracts short, not overtopping 
the spikes; staminate spike long-stalked; pistillate 
spikes I-3, sometimes staminate at the summit, occa- 
sionally compound at the ~base, oblong-cylindric, 
densely flowered, 14/-1’ long, about 3/’ in diameter, 
erect, stalked or the upper one sessile; perigynia 
broadly oblong, prominently many-nerved, green, 
1%” long, about 1’ in diameter, tipped with a mi- 
nute slightly bent beak; scales ovate, green with 
purple-brown margins, acute, mucronate or the upper 
obtuse, the upper short, the lower sometimes exceed- 
ing the perigynia; stigmas 3. 
In swamps and wet meadows, Rhode Island to Peunsylvania and Georgia, west to Michigan, 
Assiniboia, Nebraska and Arkansas. The lowest spike is sometimes borne on a very long stalk 
arising from the axil of one of the basal leaves. May-July. 
107. Carex laxiflora Lam. TLoose-flowered Sedge. (Fig. 777.) 
Carex laxiflora Yam. Encycl. 3: 392. 1789. 
Glabrous, rather pale green, culms erect or reclin- 
ing, slender, roughish above, 6/-2° long. Leaves 
1%4//-3// wide, soft, the basal mostly shorter than the 
culm, the bracts similar to the culm-leaves sometimes 
overtopping the spikes; staminate spike usually 
stalked; pistillate spikes 2-4, distant, linear-cylindric, 
loosely several-many-flowered, %4/-1’ long, 114//-2/” 
thick, all slender-stalked and spreading or drooping 
or the upper one erect and sessile; perigynia ascend- 
ing, obovoid, more or less oblique, 14’/-114’ long, 
rather more than 1%4’’ thick, narrowed at the base, 
strongly many-nerved, tapering into a short stout 
outwardly bent entire beak; scales ovate with broad 
white scarious margins, acute, cuspidate or awned, 
shorter than or exceeding the perigynia; stigmas 3. 
In meadows and thickets, Maine and Ontario to Min- 
nesota, south to Florida, Alabama and the Indian Terri- 
tory. Ascends to 5000 ft. in Virginia. May-July. 
Carex laxiflora blanda (Dewey) Boott, Ill. 37. 1858. 
Carex blanda Dewey, Am. Journ. Sci. 10:45. 1826. 
Carex laxiflora var. striatula Carey in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, 524. 1856. 
_ Pistillate spikes cylindric, mostly densely flowered, the upper sessile or nearly so, erect, con- 
tiguous to the usually sessile staminate one, the lower slender-stalked. Range of the type. Per- 
haps distinct. * 
Carex laxiflora varians Bailey, Mem. Torr. Club, 1:32. 1889. 
Stouter and taller than the preceding; leaves 2's''—314'' wide; pistillate spikes sometimes 14’ 
long and 2%’ thick, dense, often compound at the base, the upper sessile or short-stalked and con- 
tiguous to the sessile staminate one, the lower long-stalked. New Hampshire to southern New 
York and Missouri. Range undetermined. 
Carex laxiflora patulifolia (Dewey) Carey in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, 524. 1856. 
Carex anceps var. patulifolia Dewey, Wood’s Bot. 423. 1845. 
Glaucous or pale green; basal leaves 2)4''-414'' wide; staminate spike usually stalked; pistillate 
spike 1’ long or more, loosely flowered, scattered; perigynia oblong or ellipsoid, the beak nearly 
straight. Halifax, Nova Scotia (according to Macoun), Massachusetts to Michigan, south to Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee. 
Carex laxiflora divaricata Bailey, Mem. Torr. Club, 1: 33. 1889. 
Perigynia larger than in the other forms, contracted into a stipe one-half as long as the body. 
Washington, D. C. 
