CYPERACEA:. 391 



3. MARISCUS. Vahl. Mariscus. 



(From the Celtic mar, a marsh ; in allusion to the place of growth of some 

 species.) 



Spikelets few-flowered, clustered in heads. Scales somewhat 

 imbricate iii two rows ; the lower ones short and empty. 

 Stamens sometimes 2. Style trifid. Achenium triquetrous. 



1. M. ovularis Vahl: umbel simple, of 1 6 short rays; involucre 34- 

 leaved ; heads globose, compact ; spikelets terete, 2 4 flowered, radiated ; 

 scales ovate, rather obtuse. Scirpus ovularis Linn. Kyllingia orularis 

 Mich. Cyperus ovularis Torr. 



Sandy soils. N. Y. to Flor. W. to Ark. July, Aug. r t\.. Rkizoma short and 

 tuberous. Culm 618 inches high, triangular, nearly naked. Leaves keeled, 

 nearly smooth. Spikelets very numerous, 2 4-flovvered, usually only one or two 

 fertile, short and thick. Egg-shaped Mariscus. 



2. M. retrofractus Vahl : umbel simple, of numerous elongated rays ; in- 

 volucre 3-leaved ; heads obovate, retrorsely imbricate ; spikelets nearly 

 terete, subulate, 1-flowered ; two lowest scales very short, the uppermost 

 one very narrow and involute. Scirpus retrofractus Linn. Cyperus retro- 

 fractus Torr. 



Wet grounds. N. Y. to Flor. W. to Ark. July, Aug. Tj.. Culm 2 3 feet 

 high, obtusely triangular. Leaves mostly radical, half as long as the culm. 

 Spikelets very numerous, slender, the uppermost ones spreading horizontally, 

 the rest bent backwards against the peduncle. Bent-flowered Mariscus. 



4. KYLLINGIA. Linn. Kyllingia. 

 (Named in honor of Peter Kylling, a Danish botanist.) 



Spikelets distinct, disposed in a roundish sessile subimbri- 

 cate spike. Scales 2-valved, 1-flowered. Paleae 2, longer 

 than the scales. 



K. monocephala Linn.: stem filiform, triangular; involucre 3-leaved ; one 

 of the leaves erect, the others horizontal ; head globose, compact ; spikelets 

 1-flowered, ovoid, acuminate ; scales ciliate, nerved. 



Moist grounds. N. J. to Geor. June. 1\.. Root creeping, etoloniferous- 

 Culm about a foot high. Leaves narrow, shorter than the culm. Head always 

 single, mostly inclining to one side. Supposed to be distinct from the foreign 

 plant. One-headed Kyttingia. 



II. SCIRPE^E. Flowers perfect. Scales mostly imbricate on all 

 sides. Perigynium composed of bristles hairs or scales, sometimes, 

 wanting. 



5. ELEOCHARIS. Brown. Spike Rush. 



(From the Greek E\'>S, >'>?, a marsh ; and %pw, to delight in; in allusion to 

 the place of growth.) 



Scales imbricate on all sides, or imperfectly bifarious. Bris- 

 tles 3 12, (rarely wanting.) rigid and persistent, usually rough 



