CYPERACEAE (SEDGE FAMILY) 



195 



8. Peckii. 



2-7 ; scales oblong-ovate, acutish or obtuse, blackish- 



ferruginous above the pale base; achene soft, whitixh, 



oblong, Meadows and bogs, N. H., Vt., and n. N. V. 



July, "Aug. FIG. 303. 



;;_. S. cyperinus (L.) Kunth. (WOOL GRASS.) Culm 



nearly terete (1-1.5 in. high) ; leaves narrowly linear, 

 long, rigid, those of the involucre 

 3-5, longer than the loose umbel 

 (1.6-3 dm. long), the tips of the 

 rays at length drooping ; involucels 

 reddish-brown ; spikelets exceedingly 

 numerous, ovoid, clustered, woolly 

 at maturity (3-6 mm. long) ; the rust-colored bristles much 

 longer than the pointless reddish-brown scales; achene 

 short-pointed. (Eriophorum L.) Wet meadows and 

 swamps, N. E. to Va., Tenn., and Ark. Aug., Sept. FIG. 

 304. Var. ANDREWSI i Fernald. Involucels reddish-brown ; 

 spikelets cylindric, 7-10 mm. long. Local, Ct. 



Var. pelius Fernald. Involucels blackish at base; 

 bristles drab or smoke-color. The common form northw. ; 

 Kfd. to Ont., s. to Ct., N. Y., and Mich. Perhaps dis- 

 tinct. Var. coNDENsXrus Fernald. Similar, but with 

 rays all or nearly all abbreviated, the glomerules in dense 

 Local, range of last. Aug. -Oct. 



Coarse and tall (1-2 m.) ; the culm 2.5-6 mm. 



804. 8 cyperinus. 



irregular masses. 



33. S. Eri6phorum Michx. 



thick below the ample (1.6-3 dm. high) inflorescence; leaves pale green, firm, 

 6--11 mm. broad; rays very elongate, mostly ascending, drooping at tip; the 

 involucels deep red-brown or terra-cotta ; spikelets ovoid, 3-6 mm. long, the 

 lateral pediceled ; scales red-brown ; wool slightly paler. Mostly near the coast, 

 Ct. to Fla., La., and Ark. July-Sept. 



34. S. pedicellatus Fernald. Similar ; the culm rather stout (2-4 mm. 

 thick below the inflorescence) ; leaves pale green, firm, 3-10 



mm. broad ; inflorescence ample, 1-2.5 dm. high, the numerous 



ascending subequal rays very slender, with nodding tips ; 



involucels brown to diill straw-color ; spikelets 3-6 mm. long ; 



scales pale brown; wool whitish-brown. Alluvial thickets 



and swamps, e. Que. to Ct., N. Y., and Wis., mostly in the 



interior. July, Aug. FIG. 305. Ordinarily very distinct, 



occasionally approaching the preceding or the following as in 



Var. PULLUS Fernald. Spikelets dull brown or drab, 7-10 mm. 



long. Local, and perhaps as nearly related to the next (including S. atrocinc- 



tus, var. grandis Fernald). 



35. S. atrocinctus Fernald. Slender (0.5-1.2 m. high); the culm 1-2 mm. 

 in diameter below the inflorescence ; leaves bright green, rather soft, 2-5 mm. 

 broad; inflorescence 0.5-1.8 dm. high, the slender rays very unequal ; involucels 

 and base of involucre black; spikelets 2.5-6 mm. long, mostly pediceled; scales 

 greenish-black; wool drab or olive-brown. Meadows and swamps, abundant 

 northw. ; Nfd. to Hudson Bay and Sask., s. to Ct., Pa., Mich., and la. June, 

 July (Aug. in colder regions). Var. BRACHfponus Fernald. Spikelets on 

 shortened pedicels, in irregular dense clusters; rays usually much reduced. 

 Frequently occupying large areas, especially northw. and at higher altitudes 

 than the typical form. 



305. S. pedicellatus. 



10. ERI6PHORUM L. COTTON GRASS 



Bristles naked, very numerous, silky and becoming greatly elongated. Other- 

 wise as in Scirpus. Spikelets single or clustered or umbellate, when involu- 

 crate with le.af-like bracts, upon a leafy or naked stem ; scales membranaceous, 

 1-o-nerved, some of the lowest usually empty. Style very slender and elongated, 



