HORDEAE 



159 



species here listed are important above all the others on 

 account of abundance or other special quality. Probably the 

 most common is Coj'Cx niarcida which is widely distributed 

 in the State but nowhere very abundant. 



II. CYPERAGEAE. The Sedge Family 



Grass-like or rush-like herbs with steins, some of them with 

 perennial underground stems. Stems solid (rarely hollow), tri- 

 angular, quadrangular, cylindrie or flattened, leafy or leaves all 

 basal. Leaves all 3-ranked with closed sheaths and narrow blade, 

 sometimes much reduced. Flowers perfect or unisexual arranged in 

 spikelets, one (or rarely 2) in the axil of each glume or scale; the 

 spikelets solitary or clustered 1- to many-flowered. Glumes in 2 

 rows or spirally ovei-lapping, persistent or deciduous. Perianth of 

 bristles or scale-like part.s sometimes ca'yx-like, or wanting. 

 Stamens 1 to .'i. rarely nim-c. Pistil < f 2 or 3 united carpels. Fruit 

 a lenticular or triangular achene. 



Flowers of llie spikelets, at least one of them, 

 perfect, i. e. having both stamens and pis- 

 tils. 

 Glumes of the splkelct enclosing a single 



bract. (!. Hemicarpha. 



Glumes of the spikelet not enclosing a bract- 

 let. 

 Spikelets perfect, or mainly so. 

 Glumes of the spikelet 2-ranl,'ed; spikelets 



several-flowered; perianth wanting. !. Cyperus. 



Glumes of the spikelet spirally arranged 

 and overlapiiing; spikelets mostly 

 several - flowered; perianth present 

 (wanting in Stenophylhis.) 

 Base of the style not at all or only 



slightly thickened, deciduous. '>. Scirpus. 



Base of style manifestly swollen, per- 

 sistent as a tubercle on the fruit. 

 Perianth present, a series of slender 



barbed bristles; spikelets solitary. .3. Eleocharis. 

 Perianth wanting; spikelets in an 



umbel. 4. Stenophtllu*. 



Spikelets of both perfect and unisexual 

 flowers. 

 Glumes of the spikelets spirally overlap- 

 ping, plant large with compound um- 

 bels of small spikelets. 2. Cladium. 

 Flowers of the spikelets all unisexual, either 

 menoecious or dioecious; achene enclosed Im 



a hardened coat (perigj-nium.) ~. Ca^v\. 



