ON TWO NEW FORMS OP CAREX. 237 



direction, at a height just sufficient to clear liis head. The 

 velocity of the swoop being very great, and the " swish " of the 

 wings growing louder as the birds approached, made one 

 involuntarily duck the head to avoid their onslaught. On the 

 other hand, the attack of Richardson's Skua generally came from 

 behind, or sometimes from the side, but never from the front. 

 It was made by the birds dipping down in a vertical direction 

 from a height of from fifteen to twenty yards, but they never 

 actually touched us, as their larger and bolder relatives some- 

 times did. 



On Two New Forms of Carex. 



By Peter Ewing, F.L.S. 



[Read 23rd June, 1908.] 



I 



Carex saxatilis Linn., foi'ma glomerata mihi. 

 Despite the number of described forms of Carex saxatilis L., 

 I wish to direct attention to another which is so distinct as to be 

 well worthy of special recognition. It occurs on Ben Lawers 

 and Beiiin Heasgarnich, and has all along been apparently over- 

 looked as a small form of C. atrata L., to which in facies it closely 

 approaches, as may be seen from the following description : — 



Rootstock shortly creeping, with light-brown and bright- 

 purple coloured sheaths, the barren shoot and the following 

 year's barren shoot curved upwards from the base. Leaves 

 narrow, strict, slightly keeled, revolute, with angular points, 

 edges rough, shorter than the stems. Stems stout, 20-30 cm. 

 high, bluntly triangulai-, scarcely rough at the top. Spikes 

 3-4, bluntly ovate-oblong, upper spikelet very shortly 

 stalked, next sessile at its base, next shortly stalked, lowest 

 on a long stalk, terminal spike may be all male or all female 

 or partly both, and stamens are often seen on the other 

 spikes. Lower bract leaf-like, not sheathing. Glumes 

 lanceolate, acuminate, dark -purple with a lighter tip, midrib 

 slender, only visible on some of the glumes. Perigynia 

 yellowish at the base, purple above, broadly ovate, slightly 

 inflated, veinless except at sides, neck and bifid beak distinct, 

 stiumas two. 



