CYPERACE.E. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 535 



terete, 10-12-flowered; scales oblong, obtuse, faintly nerved, appressed ; nut 

 oblong, coiupressed-3-angled ; culms slender, obtuse-angled. Swamps and 

 ditches. August-Sept. Culm 2-3 high. Spikelets 6" -8" long, 

 flexnous in fruit. 



16. C. distans, L. Umbel large, compound, 8- 10-rayed; spikelets fili- 

 form, 4"- 6" long, spreading, 8- 10-flowered ; scales oblong, obtuse, faintly 

 nerved, twice as long as the winged joints ; nut oblong, 3-angled ; culms 2- 3 

 high. Wet pine woods, North Carolina. 



17. C. refractus, Engelm. Umbels mostly simple, 3-9-rayed, 3'- 9' 

 long ; spikes loose ; spikelets filiform, terete, 6- 10-flowered, 9"- 12" long, at 

 length refracted ; scales oblong, obtuse, about twice the length of the oblong 

 triquetrous nut and the winged joints ; culms slender, l-2 high, commonly 

 exceeding the rough-edged leaves. Georgia, Tennessee, and westward. 



* * Spike/ets compressed, somewhat 2-ranked, mostly few and scattered on the 

 common rarhis : perennials, with creeping tuber-bearing roatstocks: jluwtrs 

 mostly abortive. 



18. C. esculentus, L. Umbel mostly simple, erect, 5 - 6-rayed, shorter 

 than the 3-5-leaved involucre; spikelets linear, spreading, 12-24-flowered, 

 the lower ones often clustered ; scales oblong, obtuse or short mucronate, 

 compressed-keeled, thin-margined, spreading at the apex, yellowish brown ; nut 

 oblong, triquetrous, acute. Sandy soil near the coast, Florida, and north- 

 ward. Julv - Sept. Culms 1 - 1A high, acute-angled, longer than the erect 

 smooth leaves. Rays 2' -4' long. Spikelets 6" -8" long. Whole plant 

 yellowish, 



Var. macrostachyus, Boackl. Larger (2 -3 high) ; spikelets longer 

 (!' long) and broader, 30 - 40 flowered ; scales acute, rounded on the back. 

 Coast of Florida, and westward. 



19. C. rotundus, L. Umbel simple or compound, 3 -8- rayed, mostly 

 longer than the 3-leaved involucre ; spikes composed of 3-9 scattered linear 

 flat 20-30-flowered spikelets; scales oblong, obtuse, appressed, 7-nerved on 

 the green keel, the membranaceous sides dark chestnut ; nut obovate ; culms 

 smooth, slender, longer than the broadly linear crowded spreading rough 

 leaves. Sandy soil, along the coast. August -Sept. Culm 9'- 18' high. 

 Rays slender, 2' - 4' long. Spikelets V - V long. 



2. Umbel compound: spikeltts compressed, many-flowered, scattered in loose 

 spikes at the ^filiform summit of the rays: scales thin, 5-nerued, separate: 

 joints of the rachis slight!// margined : stamens 2. 



20. C. Iria, L. Umbel 6- 8 rayed, erect, shorter than the 3-4-leaved 

 involucre; spikelets erect-spreading, oblong-linear, 12-24-flowered; scales 

 spreading, nearly orbicular, obtuse or emarginate, short-mucronate, 5-nerved 

 on the green keel, the thin whitish sides minutely pitted; nut oblong-obovate, 

 abruptly-pointed; style very short; culms (1 high) slender, acute-angled, 

 longer than the smooth narrow leaves. South Carolina (Rarenet), Mississippi 

 (Traceij). Probably introduced. 



