344 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



furthest from the hilum. In Luzula the ovules and 

 seeds are erect from the base, not pendulous. 



There are no economic properties of importance 

 belonging to the plants of this order. 



Jointed Pipewort {Eriocaulon septangulare) . 



Since the first species which was placed in the 

 genus had a woolly stem, or scape, the generic name 

 was appropriate, but in most of the species it is 

 smooth. The furrows on the stem suggested the 

 specific name for this species. 



An American plant, the Pipewort is found in two 

 regions in the British Isles, one in Scotland, the 

 Outer Hebrides, Skye, Coll. It also occurs in the 

 west of Ireland in the Connemara district. It is not 

 found elsewhere in Europe. There are three other 

 Irish-American plants, Sisyrinchium angustifolium, 

 Blue- Eyed Grass, and 5. calif ornictim, and Spiranthes 

 Romanzoffiana^ Irish Ladies' Tresses. 



The habitat is shallow lakes. The plant occurs in 

 the fresh-water aquatic formation in waters relatively 

 poor in mineral salts in the submerged-leaf associa- 

 tion. 



Tufted in habit the plant has a slender rootstock, 

 which creeps in the mud, with white, jointed fibres, 

 cellular. The stems or scapes depend on the depth 

 of the water for length. The leaves are in tufts, 

 linear, awl-like, green, with a soft point, transparent, 

 flattened from side to side, smooth, septate. 



