Notes on Carex — II 
KENNETH KENT MACKENZIE 
The species of Carex of the sub-genus /ignea are very numer- 
ous in North America, and are distinguished from one another by 
slight characters. The differences are often very hard to express 
in written descriptions, but when pointed out in the plants them- 
selves are usually readily seen, and speaking in general terms the 
species are constant. The eastern species have become fairly well 
known, but there are many western forms which have only of late 
years begun to appear to any considerable extent in collections, 
and to four of these, all belonging to the section with the stami- 
nate flowers uppermost, the present paper will be devoted. 
’ Carex austrina (Small) sp. nov. 
Carex Muhlenbergii australis Olney ; Bailey, Proc. Am. Acad. 22: 
141. 1886. Not Carex australis T. Kirk. 1894. 
Carex Muhlenbergii austrinus Small, Fl. S. E. U.S. 218.1903. 
Culms erect, growing in strong clumps, 3-7 dm. high, the up- 
per part roughened on the angles beneath the head, usually notice- 
ably exceeding the upper leaves. Leaves with well-developed 
blades three to five to a culm, the blades ascending, 2.5-4 (rarely 
4.5) mm. wide, 1-3 cm. long, glabrous, but roughened towards 
the apex and on the margins ; spikes densely aggregated in a sol- 
itary terminal head, 15-30 mm. long, 8-15 mm. wide, the lower 
two to four distinguishable, each spike bearing the few inconspic- 
uous staminate flowers above and the ten to many ascending per- 
igynia below ; bracts 1-5 cm. long, dilated and much nerved at 
the base, long-cuspidate and conspicuous ; scales broadly ovate, 
white-hyaline,,with several strong green ribs, strongly cuspidate, 
about as wide as and usually exceeding the perigynia, conspicu- 
ous; perigynia ascending, suborbicular, 4 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, 
greenish, rounded at base, abruptly narrowed into the serrulate, 
bidentate beak, which is about one-third the length of the body, 
‘ nerveless or nearly so on the inner face, strongly nerved on the 
outer; achene lenticular, the face orbicular, 2.5 mm. long ; stig- 
mas two. 
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