CAREX . CfPERACE^E 711 



Southern Idaho. 



C. nardina Fries Mant. ii, 55. Stems filiform, erect, smooth, 2-6 

 inches high, very densely tufted : leaves filiform, erect, about as long as 

 the stems: spikes solitary erect, terminal, ovoid-oblong, 3-5 lines long, 

 less than 2 lines thick, bractless : perigynia oblong-elliptic, yellowish- 

 brown, narrowed at both ends, nearly 2 lines long, somewhat hispid above, 

 beakless, the orifice 2-toothed, equalling or shorter than the brown ovate 

 acute or cuspidate thin scales. Washington to Brit. Columbia and Hudson 

 Bay. 



TRIBE xiii HYPARRHEN.E Fries Summa. 72. Staminate flow- 

 ers borne at the base of the spike or variously situated. 



1 ELONGATE Kunth Enum. PL ii, 402. Spikes silvery- 

 green or sometimes tawny when mature, distinct, mostly small. 

 Perigynia not wing-margined nor conspicuously broadened, 

 mostly nearly flat on the inner face, 



C. sterilis Willd. Sp. PL iv, 208. Stems slender, stiff, erect or spread- 

 ing, 8-18 inches long, rough above : leaves %-\ line wide, shorter than the 

 stem : bracts very short or sometimes bristle-like : spikes 3-5, subglobose 

 or short-oblong, contiguous or separated, about 2}^ lines thick : staminate 

 flowers usually numerous at the base of the upper spike or sometimes 

 whole spikes staminate, rarely quite dioecious: perigynia pale, lanceolate, 

 compressed, spreading or reflexed when mature, }y z lines long, thickene'd 

 at base, tapering into a sharp-edged 2-toothed rough beak more than half 

 as long as the body, longer than the ovate hyaline scale : stigmas 2. Com- 

 mon in moist places, California to Alaska and across the continent. 



f C. canescens L. Sp. 974. Pale green and somewhat glaucous: stems 

 slender, erect, roughish above, 10-30 inches high: leaves flat, %-i line 

 wide, shorter than the stem : bracts very short or none, or the lowest bris- 

 tle-like and longer than its spike : spikes 4-9, short-oblong or subglobose, 

 densely many-flowered, 2-5 lines long, about 2 lines thick, scatteied or the 

 upper close together: staminate flowersbasal : perigynia oval, silvery-green 

 to nearly white, rather less than a line long, about % line wide* rough 

 above, tipped with a minute entire beak, equalling or surpassing the ovate 

 hyaline scale. In swamps and bogs, Oregon to Alaska and across the 

 continent. 



Var. Oregana Bailey Mem. Torr. Bot, Club i, 75. Head larger 

 and more dense, becoming brown: spikes loosely flowered, the perigynia 

 sometimes spreading in a stellate manner, narrow, often almost linear- 

 lanceolate, brown-nerved, sharp edged and rough above. In wet places. 

 Oregon to Vancouver Island. 



C. brunnescens Poir. in Lam. Encycl. Supp. iii, 286. Rather dark 

 green, not glaucous : stems slender, stiff, erect, 8-18 inches high : leaves a 

 line or less wide, shorter than the stem, epikes 4-8 subglobose or short- 

 oblongj few-flowered, rarely over 2)4 lines long, scattered or the upper 

 close together : staminate flowers basal : perigynia ascending or spreading, 

 brown, less than a line long, tipped with a beak about % as long as the 

 body, about equalling the ovate membranous brownish scale. In wet 

 places, Oregon to Brit. Columbia and the Eastern States. 



C. arcta Boott 111. 155, t. 497. Rather light green but not glaucous: 

 stems slender, erect, 12-30 inches high, rough above: leaves flat, aline 

 wide, shorter than or equalling the stem : spikes oblong, many-flowered, 

 3-4 lines long, about 2% lines thick, all aggregated into a terminal ovoid 

 cluster : staminate flowers basal : perigynia pale, ovate, mostly spreading, 

 tapering into a rough beak about half as long as the body, longer than the 



