348 CYPERACEAE. 
168. Carex muricata lL. Lesser Prickly 
Sedge. (Fig. 838.) 
Carex muricata I,. Sp. Pl. 974. 1753- 
Bright green, culms slender, erect or reclining, 
roughish, at least above, 1°-2'4° long. Leaves 1//— 
1%4’/ wide, shorter than the culm, bracts very short 
and subulate; spikes 5-10, 4-10-flowered, all clus- 
tered into an oblong head, or the lower 1 or 2 
somewhat distant; perigynia ovate or ovate-lanceo- 
late, 2’’ long, 1’ wide, smooth, shining, nerveless, 
ascending when young, spreading or radiating 
when mature, not reflexed, tapering into a rough- 
edged 2-toothed beak as long as the body; scales 
ovate or ovate-oblong, green or brownish, acute, 
somewhat shorter than the perigynia; stigmas 2. 
In meadows and fields, eastern Massachusetts to 
southern New York, Ohio and Virginia. Naturalized 
from Europe. June-Aug. 
169. Carex sparganioides Muhl. Bur-reed Sedge. (Fig. 839. ) 
Carex sparganioides Muhl.; Willd. Sp. Pl. 4: 237. 
1805. 
Rather dark green with nearly white sheaths, 
culms stout or slender, rough, sharply 3-angled, 2°- 
3° tall. Leaves broad and flat, 2'4’/-414’’ wide, 
shorter than or sometimes overtopping the culm, 
the lower very short; spikes 6-12, oblong or sub- 
globose, 2'4’’-4’’ in diameter, several-many-flow- 
ered, the upper aggregated, the lower 2-4 com- 
monly separated, sometimes compound and sub- 
tended by bristle-like bracts; perigynia flat, ovate, 
1%’ long, 1’’ wide, spreading or radiating, pale, 
narrowly wing-margined, rounded at the base, usu- 
ally few-nerved on the outer face, the rough 2- 
toothed beak one-fourth to one-third the length of 
the body; scales ovate, hyaline, acute or cuspidate, 
about one half as long as the perigynia; stigmas 2. 
In woods and thickets, Massachusetts to Ontarioand 
Michigan, south to Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri. 
Ascends to 2100 ft. in Virginia. June-Aug. 
170. Carex cephaloidea Dewey. Thin-leaved Sedge. (Fig. S4o. ) 
Carex muricata var. cephaloidea Dewey, Am. Journ. 
Sci. 11: 308. 1826. 
Carex cephaloidea Dewey, Rep. Pl. Mass. 262. 1840. 
Similar to the preceding species, culms slender 
or rather stout, erect but not stiff, rough above, 2°— 
3° tall. Leaves flat, 2’/-4’” wide, thin and lax, 
somewhat shorter than the culm; bracts bristle- 
form, usually short, sometimes wanting; spikes 4- 
8, subglobose, aggregated but commonly distinct, 
in an oblong cluster 9’/-15’’ long, the staminate 
flowers terminal; perigynia ovate or ovate-lanceo- 
late, greenish brown, nearly 2’’ long, 1’’ wide, as- 
cending, nerveless or faintly few-nerved, tapering 
into a rough 2-toothed beak one-fourth to one-third 
as long as the body; scales ovate, white, membran- 
ous with a green midvein, short-cuspidate or awned, 
about one-half as long as the perigynia; stigmas 2. 
In dry fields and on hills, Massachusetts to Pennsyl- 
vania, Illinois, Michigan and Wyoming. May-July. 
