2^orth American Cyperacea. 323 



pubescent. Bristles 3 — 5, slender, fragile, retrorsely scabrous. Stamens 

 3. Nut dark brown and rather dull, even, very convex in front, abruptly 

 pointed. 



Hab. Swamps and wet meadows, both salt and fresh ; 

 throughout North America, to the Arctic regions. A native 

 also of South America, Europe and New Holland. 



Obs. This species varies in the thickness of its culm, the 

 size and number of the spikes, and their distance below the 

 summit, &c. but it always preserves its essential characters. It 

 does not appear to differ materially from the S. triqueter of 

 Europe. Whether the S. mucronatus, Linn, is really a native 

 of this country, I know not ; but the plant which Pursh has 

 described under that name is a mere variety of S. triqueter. 



1 1. Spikes terminal. 



8. SCIRPUS MARITIMUS, LiuU. 



Culm triquetrous, leafy; umbel simple or compound, often 

 of few spikes and sessile, shorter than the involucre ; spikes 

 oblong, (large and thick, rather obtuse) ; scales ovate, lacerately 

 3-toothed, the midrib produced into a short recurved bristle ; 

 style 3-cleft; nut broadly obovate, lenticular, smooth and 

 shining, much longer than the slender bristles. 



S. maritimus, Willd. sp. 306; Ram. 8f Schult. $yst. 2. p. 138; R. 

 Brown, prodr. 1. p. 224; N.ah Esenb. in WighVs contrih. p. Ill ; Big. 

 ji. Bost. ed. 2 p. 21; Beck! hot. p. 426; Gray! Gram. Sf Cyp. part 1 

 no. 82. (in part.) 



S. macrostachyos, Muhl.! gram. p. 45, (in part) ; Torr. ! fl. 1. p. 50 

 (in part.) 



S. maritimus, /3 macrostachyos, Michx.! fi. 1. p. 32. (in part.) 



S. robustus, Pursh! fl. 1. p. 56 (in part.) 



Culm 1 — 4 feet high, thick, smooth, leafy below. Leaves 2 — 5 lines 

 broad, carinate, as tall as the culm, smooth. Involucre foliaceous, about 2- 

 leaved, much longer than the umbel. Spikes 3 — 20, nearly an inch in 

 length and very thick, sometimes aggregated and sessile, but generally 



