CYPERACE.E. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 533 



gray. Wet places, North Carolina, aud northward. August. Culms 4'~ 

 10' high. Involucre 3-leaved. 



3. C. leucolepis, Carey. Spikelets capitate, ovate-lanceolate, flat, acute, 

 5-7 flowered ; scales ovate, mucrouate, compressed-keeled, 7 -nerved, the scari- 

 ous sides broadly decurreut; style deeply 2-parted; stamens 2-3; nut (imma- 

 ture) oblong, lenticular; culms low (2' -3'), tufted, obtuse-angled, shorter 

 than the smooth keeled leaves. Damp cultivated grounds, Quincy, Middle 

 Florida. August. Head 3" -4" in diameter, composed of 3 - 4 compact 

 clusters; spikelets \" long, white. 



* * Spikelets scattered on the common rachis (spiked). 



4 C. Nuttallii, Torr. Umbel sessile or of 3 - 6 rays, l'-2' long ; spike- 

 lets spreading, linear-lanceolate, acute, light or yellowish brown, 12-20- 

 flowered, the lower ones commonly compound ; scales rigid, oblong-ovate, 

 acute or mucrouate, appressed; stamens 2 ; nut oblong-obovate, very obtuse, 

 grayish and minutely pitted ; culms clustered, 3-angled, 4'- 15' high ; leaves 

 and involucre narrowly linear. Salt or brackish soil, Florida, and northward. 

 July - Sept. 



5. C. flavicomus, Michx. Umbel compound, many-rayed ; spikelets 

 crowded, linear, acute, 12-30-flowered; scales loosely imbricated, yellowish, 

 round-obovate, emarginate, with broad scarious margins, at length spreading; 

 rachis broadly margined ; stamens 3 ; nut obovate, black, smooth and shining, 

 barely shorter than the scale ; culms thick, obtuse-angled, l-3 high ; leaves 

 broadly linear, as long as the culm. Low grounds and ditches, Georgia aud 

 South Carolina. May -Sept. Involucre 3-5-leaved. Spikelets 6" -9" long. 



6. C. polystachyus, Rottb. Umbel of 4 - 8 rays, simple or somewhat 

 compound; spikelets crowded, linear, acute, 1 5 - 25-flowered ; scales thin, 

 ovate, acute, closely imbricated ; rachis slightly margined ; stamens 2 ; nut 

 linear-oblong or somewhat club-shaped, short-pointed, grayish and minutely 

 pitted ; culms filiform, 3-angled, 6'- 12' high ; leaves and elongated involucre 

 very narrow. Margins of ponds and streams, Florida to North Carolina. 

 J uly - Sept. Rays 1' - 2' long. Spikelets 4" - 1" long. 



2. CTPERUS proper. Style 3-c/eft : nut 3-angled. 



1. Umbel simple or compound : spikelets spreading, forming loose or compact 

 spikes at the summit of the rai/s : scales rigid, 7 - ll-nerved : joints of the 

 rachis commonly conspicuously winged: stamens 3. 



* Spikelets approximate or crowded on all sides of the common rachis. 

 t- Spikelets compressed. 



7. C. Strigosus, L. Umbel large, 4 - 8-rayed, simple or compound, much 

 shorter than the involucre ; involucels bristly, shorter than the dense oblong 

 spikes ; spikelets linear, acute, 6 - 10-flowered ; scales somewhat scattered on 

 the very slender rachis, oblong-lanceolate, acute, much longer than the linear- 

 oblong acute minutely dotted dull nut ; culms (l-3 high) tumid at the base, 

 as long as the broadly linear leaves. Swamps and damp soil. July -Sept. 

 Rays 4' - 6' long. Spikelets $' - f ' long. Sheath of the rays bristle-pointed. 



8. C. Stenolepis, Torr. Umbel simple or compound, 6 - 9-rayed, shorter 

 than the 3 - G-leaved involucre ; sheaths of the rays truncate ; iuvolucels 



