Monograph of North American Cartas. 3A31 



Hab. In wet meadows ; Canada to North Carolina ; rather 

 rare. 



Obs. The variety j3. may prove to be a distinct species. Its 

 characters are pretty constant, but sometimes it appears to 

 pass into the ordinary C. crinita. It has much the appear- 

 ance of C. miliacea, but it is easily distinguished. Occa- 

 sionally all the spikes are fertile. We have another variety 

 of C. crinita, collected in New-Hampshire by Capt. Le 

 Conte. This has three sterile and as many fertile spikes ; 

 the latter are oblong-cylindrical : the glumes subulate, and 

 five or six times exceeding the fruit in length. 



99. Carex acuta, Lin. 



C. spicis sterilibus 1 — 3 ; fertilibus subternis, subpeduncula- 

 tis, subnutantibus, cylindraceis, remotis; fructibus oblongis, 

 ore integro, pertuso, gluma oblonga acuta subaequantibus. 



C acuta, Willd. sp. pi. iv. p. 304. Schk. car. t. Ee. & Ff. 

 f. 92. Purshfl. i. p. 98. MuM. gram. p. 263. Elliott sk. ii. 

 p. 537. 



Culm 2 feet high, remarkably triquetrous, very scabrous on the angles, 

 leafy at the base. Leaves erect, subglaucous. Sterile spikes 1 — 3, often 

 solitary, straight and erect, cylindrical ; glumes oblong-lanceolate, 

 mostly obtuse, light brown, with the keel green. Fertile spikes gene- 

 rally 3, (sometimes 2), the lowest on a short peduncle ; upper ones often 

 sterile at the summit; glumes oblong-lanceolate, rather obtuse, dark 

 brown, with a green keel, little longer than the fruit. Fruit obtusely 

 triquetrous, without nerves ; rostrum very short, orifice minute. 



Hab. In wet meadows ; Canada to Georgia ; common. 



Flowers in May. 

 Obs. This common species appears to differ in no essential 



respect from the European C. acuta. 



b. With three stigmas. 



100. Carex Barrattii, *. 



C. spicis sterilibus subgeminis; fertilibus subtribus, oblongo- 



cylindraceis, apice staminiferis, cernuis, distantibus ; fru 



