296 North American Ci/j'^racece. 



conirib. p. 98 ; Cyperus sctaceus, Rctz. ; Eleocharis sctaceus, 

 R. Brown ;*) but in that species the nut is punctato-striate, and 

 there are six bristles, four of which equal the nut in length. 



B. Scales of the, spikes imbricated en all sides. 

 f With a perigyniu7n, 



9. ELEOCHARIS, R. Broivn. 



Scales of the spike imbricated on all sides. Bristles of 

 the perigynium 3 — 12, (commonly 6,) rigid, persistent. Style 

 2 — 3 cleft ; the base bulbous and persistent, articulated to the 

 ovary. Nut commonly obovate, lenticular, or obtusely trian- 

 gular, crowned with a tubercle or bulbous base of the style. 

 — Culms simple, leafless, with truncate or mucronate sheaths 

 at the base ; spike terminal, solitary, naked. 



Eleocharis, R. Brown, prod. 1. p. 224; Rcem. ^ Schiilt. 

 syst. 2. p. 3 ; Gra.xfs nat. arrarig. of Brit. pi. 2. p. 77. 



Eleocharis, Eleogenus, Limnochloa and Scirpidium, N. ah 

 Esenh. in JLinncKa, 9, pp. 293, 294, and in Wights contrib. p. 

 71. 



Heleocharis, and Limnochloa, Leslib. ess.- fam. Cyp. p. 41, 

 no. 50 and 52. 



Species of Scirpus, Linn., Vahl, Kunth. 



^ 1. Spike cylindrical ; scales rigid, arranged in a spiral 

 order ; style ^-cleft; nut biconvex; pericarp thin; tubercle 

 cartilaginous, compressed, colored. — Limnochloa. 



1. Eleocharis equisetoides. 



Culm terete, remotely nodose, papillose; spike cyHndrical; 

 scales suborbicular-ovate, very obtuse, or slightly pointed; 



* " Cyperus setaceus, Retz. et Willd. sp. pi. 1. p. 269, hue quoque- 

 referendus a reliquis differt, nuce 3-gona, et spicula disdcha." R. Broirn, 

 prod. 1. p. 224, in his Observations on the genus Eleocharis. 



