250 MACKENZIE: NoTES ON CAREX 
(1) Both Willdenow and Schkuhr in their descriptions lay 
particular stress on the dioecious character of the spikes of the 
plant described by them, and in fact the name is taken from this 
character. Carex atlantica never to my knowledge shows this 
character, while on the other hand forms of Carex Leersii (Carex 
stellulata) do. 
(2) Carex atlantica is a species of the coastal plain and is very 
rarely found inland. Carex sterilis was collected in Pennsylvania, 
probably near Lancaster, in a region where forms of Carex Leersii 
are very abundant. 
The reason advanced by Professor Fernald for identifying 
Carex sterilis with Carex atlantica is chiefly that some of the original 
material has a broad and short-beaked perigynium as compared 
with the narrower and long-beaked perigynium of Carex Leersi. 
In this, however, this material agrees also with the recently described 
Carex incomperta Bicknell —a plant which, undoubtedly, is found 
around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as it is not confined to the coastal 
plain. 
Schkuhr’s figure is based partly on young plants showing the 
dioecious character from which the name is taken and which 
should therefore be regarded as the type of the species, and partly 
on more mature plants showing broad short-beaked perigynia. 
The former seem to me to answer only to Carex Leersii, while the 
latter seem to me more probably referable to C. zvcomperta than 
to C. atlantica. Under the circumstances I would treat Carex 
Sterilis,as a synonym of Carex Leersii, and maintain Carex atlantica 
and C. ixcomperta as valid species. 
