‘2B. “ : 
356 Baldwin on Rottbéllia. 
Culm two to three feet high, with a very solid exterior, but 
spongy within D, compressed, and deeply grooved on its inner 
angle the whole length between the joints. Leaves “a sod 
row, and acute, scabrous on the margin and midrib. S$ ye 
compressed, corresponding with the culm, shorter than t 
internodes, open, with membraneous margins. Peduncles short, 
clothed with a thin membraneous acute pointed sheath, which 
generally encloses also the base of the spike. _ Spikes two a 
three inches long. The flowers are arranged in alternate or- 
der, but occupy only one side of the rachis, as in the R. dimi- 
diata. The neutral florets, or clavate pedicels, are joined late- 
rally to the perfect flowers. Articulations of the rachis c# 
markably tumid, attenuated beneath, flat on the interior oo 
exteriorly convex, scabrous, and longitudinally striate.” e 
exterior valve of the calyx, in the perfect flowers, is ovate, 
ytuse, very thick, cartilaginous, the inner margin inflected, 
and deeply marked on its outer surface with from three to five 
corrugations, with longitudinal ridges between them; -the in- 
terior valve is smaller, of equal length, acute, ruled, coriace- 
ous, smooth, and with the inner margin also inflected. The 
valves of the corolla are membraneous, ovate, acute, white, 
shorter than the calyx, the exterjor one the longest. The 
neutral florets are somtimes male, but most commonly consist 
of nothing more than a 2-valved calyx, the valves equal, gaping, 
scabrous, and much smaller than those. of the perfect flower. 
Stamens 3, very short.  Anthers twin, yellow. Styles 2, rather 
longer than the stamens. Stigmas small, plumose, dark purple. 
Discovered between St. Mary’s and Jefferson, in Camden 
county, Georgia, on the 13th of July, 1813. Inhabits flat, 
moist pine barren. I have not seen it “on the sea-coast © 
— ; 
2 
OBSERVATIONS. fers 
It will be perceived that my description of this plant di Ss 
materially from that of Mr. Nuttall. This has unavoidably 
be the plant of oo, bs was so considered by the late Dr. Muhlenberg; 
wren edtohim. Itremains under this name . 
in his herbarium, but is not included in his work on the grasses. He i 
for me to describe along with other new and doubtful plants from the south, 
