1.54 



oG. CyPEHACE.E. 



upper part, the nume7'f)Us teiiialo flowers clustered round the 

 lower part of the spadix and suriouuded by barren stamens; 

 style snort ; fruit a berry, 1-5-celled. 



Ornamental plant : Waterfall and other gullies in the 

 Mount Lofty Range. Sept. -Dec. -South Africa. 



Family 56.— CYPERACE/E. 



Perianth none or inconspicuous; stamens usually 3, 

 attached at the base of the free ovary; style 1, with 2-3 

 stigmatic branches: fruit a small, seedlike akene, 1-seeded ; 

 each Hower rising from the axil of a small bract called 

 a {jlvinc, which plays tlie part of a perianth, the glumes 

 overlapping each other and forming small spikes called 

 spikclcts. Herbs with .solid stems and cylindrical or grass- 

 like leaves, surrounding the stein in a tubular .sheath, which 

 is not .slit as in Graminece. 



Flowers bisexual; spikelet with the glumes 



ill 2 opposite rows; akene naked Cypervs 1 



Flowers unisexual; spikelet witii tin- 

 in several rows round the axis ; 



glumes 

 akene 



enclosed in a little membranous bag 

 (utricle) 



1. Cyperus, L. 



1. Cyperus rotundus, L. 



y^tfgraS'S. Perennial with slen- 

 der rootstock, swollen here and 

 there into blacki.sh. ovoid, tuni- 

 cated tubers; stem slender, tri- 

 angular towards the top : leaves 

 numerous, linear, glossy-green, 

 keeled : spikelets reddish-brown, 

 compressed, linear 10-20 mm. 

 (i-j in.) long, arranged in short 

 spikes or clu.sters on the 4^-10 

 very unequal rays of an umbel, 

 with 2-4 floral leaves at base : 

 axis of spikelet winged; ghimes 

 keeled and faintly nerved ; .sta- 

 mens and stigmas 3; akene tri- 

 angular, half the length of the 

 gli;me. 



A weed in the North Adelaide 

 reserves. — Dec. -Mar. — Most coun- 

 tries, including the eastern 



Carex 2 



Cyperus rotundus. 



States of Australia. Very diffi- 

 oiUt to eradicate. 



2. Carkx, L. 



1. Carex Bichenoviana, Boott. Bicheno^s Sedge. 

 Glabrous perennial, 30-5U cm. (12-20 in.) high, with a 

 creeping root.stock ; stem eject, .striate, triangular and 

 .smootli on the edges; leaves stiff, linear, longer than stem, 



