252 North American Cyperacea. 



Hab. In wet places, particularly nsar salt wat;r, Massa- 

 chasetts ! to Pennsjdvania ! — Septjn.bjr. 



Obs. Nearly allied to C. jiavescens, but differing in the form 

 and colour of the spikelets, the diandrous flowers, aid hr^er 

 dull nuts, &c. It 13 easily recogaised by its handsome, com- 

 pressed, Hg t-bro'vvn spikelets. 



(3. ? castaneus. 



Culms cespitose J rays mos tly very short ; scaler subcoria- 

 ceous, shining, closely imbricated ; style scarcely exserted. 



C. castaneus, Big. J fl. Bost. ed. 2. (not. of Willd.) 



C. flavescens /3. castaneus, Pursh, fl. 1. p. 52. 



C. bicolor, Bart. fl. Phil. 1. p. 27, (not of Vahl.) 



Plant about 3 — 4 inches high. Culms numerous, tough, and rather 

 rigid, often prostrate. Spikelets oblong-lanceolate. Scales very closely 

 imbricated, and of a firm texture, dark-chestnut on the sides, with a green 

 keel. Stamens frequently 3 in the upper florets. Style scarcely twice 

 the length of the nut, and generally making a short curve before emerg- 

 ing from the scale. Nut gray or light-brown, dull, somewhat scabrous. 



Hab. On the muddy and sandy banks of rivers ; Massa- 

 chusetts ! to Pennsylvania ! Very common in New England ! 

 and in the western parts of the state of New York ! — August, 

 September. 



Obs. The peculiar characters of this variety may be owing 

 to the situations in which it grows. Its appearance, however, 

 is very distinct from C. diandrus, as described above. Muhlen- 

 berg notices it in his Desc, uher. gram, as a " co-species" of C. 

 jiavescens. 



3. CypERUs NuTTALLii, Torreij. 



Rays few, short or nearly sessile, loose ; spikelets linear- 

 lanceolate, compressed, acute ; scales oblong-lanceolate, acute ; 

 stamens 2 ; nut oblong-obovate, very obtuse, dull ; culms ces- 

 pitose, acutely triangular ; involucre 4-leaved, two of the 

 leaves very long. 



C Nuttallii, Torr. ! in Spreng. neue entd. 1. p. 240 ; Torr.! fi.l. 

 p. 60; Schult. mant. 2. p. 109; Spreng..' syst. l.Tp. 222; Beck! hot. 

 p. 142; Chay ! Gram, and Cyp. part 1. no. 69. 



