106 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



water, where the roots have plenty of moisture, it grows tall 

 and fairly strong, sometimes reaching two feet in height. When 

 the inflorescence is large and heavy the slender stem bends 

 down, and frequently will be found in great numbers leaning 

 over on the water's surface, the flowering tops dipping into 

 and rising out of the moving stream. On the wet hillsides the 

 plants grow luxuriantly also, but wherever seen in full develop- 

 ment the slender stem is bent in its upper half, the inflorescence 

 waving about in the wind. 



Higher up on the drier wind-swept slopes this Carex gets 

 dwarfed, the stem remains upright, and the inflorescence is rigid 

 and erect. Looked at as it grows on the soft river bank or 

 mountain slope, the plant is very attractive. Its flat soft leaves 

 are bright green, the stem is exceedingly slender, and mostly 

 gracefully curved, so that the flower heads hang down, and as 

 these have fairly long stalks, and are of a clear shining 

 black in colour, and have the roughened feathering appearance 

 and shape of a bottle brush, it naturally attracts at once the 

 notice it deserves. 



The root is strong, its fibres sinking deeply, and in many 

 plants is stoloniferous. The stem is roundish, but slightly 

 angled, and very slender. Leaves flat, linear, short, sometimes 

 slightly scabrous, as is also the stem at the top. The male 

 spikelet is solitary, oblong in shape, dark brown or, in some, 

 black. The female spikelets, 3 to 5, oblong, dense, generally 

 with long peduncles, black or blackish, the lowermost one 

 distant, with a longer peduncle. Sometimes the upper spikelets 

 are clustered, and, as a rule, they are all pendant. The bracts 

 are foliaceous, all shorter than the head, with long sheaths. 

 The utricle or fruit is long, lanceolate, trigonens, black, with a 

 divided beak, slightly ciliated, and longer than the glume. 

 The glumes are oblong, lanceolate, acute, blackish, with a lighter 

 edge and median nerve. 



It was stated that C frigida seems a very distinct species, 

 and is essentially alpine, being rarely found under 6,000 feet. 

 It has been repeatedly assigned a close relationship to 

 G. binervis, but while it has undoubtedly many points of 

 similarity, in others it is quite distinct. Dr. Brown then 

 entered upon a description of the more striking specific 



