48 CYPERACEAE. 



the stem; spikes 5-7, the uppermost staminate, 5-8 cm. long; pistillate spikes 

 narrowly cylindrical, straight or curved, 6-10 cm. long, dark olivaceous, the 

 lower ones long-peduncled; perigynium subglobose, glabrous, the beak with 

 an oblique entire orifice ; scales purple with a green midrib. Along streams in 

 woods. 



Carex aperta Boott. (C. bovina Howell.) Tufted, smooth throughout; 

 stems 30-60 cm. high; leaves flat but keeled, 4-6 mm. broad, rather shorter 

 than the stems; spikes 3-4, the terminal staminate, mostly short peduncled; 

 pistillate spikes 1-3 cm. long, densely flowered, 5 mm. thick; scales equalling 

 the perigynia, acuminate, purple with a green midrib; perigynia 2 mm. long, 

 turgid, broadest at the middle, tapering to each end, brown when mature, 

 the two or three angles pale; beak short and entire. On overflowed river 

 bottoms, often very abundant and cut for hay. 



Carex lanuginosa Michx. Stems erect, slender, 30-60 cm. tall, somewhat 

 tufted; leaves flat, 2-5 mm. wide, as long or nearly as long as the stem; stami- 

 nate spikes 1-3, sometimes pistillate at base; pistillate spikes 1-3, mostly 

 long-peduncled, 18-30 mm. long; perigynia oval, densely pubescent, with a 

 short 2-toothed beak; bracts acute or acuminate, about equal to the perigynium. 

 Swamps, not rare. 



Carex atherodes Spreng. (C. aristata R. Br.) Rather stout, 60-100 cm. 

 high; stems sharply angled; leaves numerous, 3-5 mm. wide, exceeding the 

 stems, the lower surface and sheaths hairy; spikes 2-8, scattered, short pe- 

 duncled, the upper 1-4 staminate; staminate spikes pale, slender, 2-6 cm. 

 long; pistillate spikes 2-5 cm. long, rather loosely flowered; perigynia ovoid- 

 lanceolate, strongly nerved, the body 5 mm. long, the stout recurved teeth 

 2 mm. long; scales paler, awn-pointed, shorter than the perigynia. In wet 

 places, infrequent. 



Carex comosa Boott. Tufted, the stem stout, 50-150 cm. high, rough and 

 sharply angled; leaves broad, 6-15 mm. wide, scabrous on the margins; spikes 

 4-6, drooping, on slender peduncles, the uppermost staminate, linear, brown- 

 ish, 3-9 cm. long, often partly pistillate ; pistillate spikes pale green, cylindric, 

 about 1.5 cm. thick, densely flowered; perigynia spreading, firm, lance-ovate, 

 strongly many-nerved, attenuate into a long 2-toothed beak, the teeth 1-2 

 mm. long and spreading; scales brownish, awned, about as long as the perigynia. 

 Usually in shallow water. 



Carex utriculata Boott. Stems stout, spongy at base, 60-100 cm. high; 

 leaves broad, 4-10 mm. wide, much longer than the stems, nodose-reticulate; 

 bracts leaf-like, exceeding the stem; staminate spikes 2-5, linear, 3-12 cm. 

 long, sometimes pistillate at the top; pistillate spikes 2-6, peduncled, cylindric, 

 green or brownish, 2-12 cm. long, often staminate at the top; perigynia 5-6 

 mm. long, ovoid-conic, inflated, shining, gradually contracted into the beak, 

 strongly nerved; scales lance-oblong, purple, mostly obtuse, shorter than the 

 perigynia. Common in wet places. 



Carex monile pacifica Bailey. Stems 30-100 cm. tall, rather slender; 

 leaves pale, flat, 3-5 mm. wide, shorter than the stem or little exceeding it, 

 more or less nodose, reticulate; lower sheaths fibrose-margined; inflorescence 

 of from 3-6 spikes, overtopped by the long bracts; staminate spikes 1-3, 

 2-4 cm. long, sometimes pistillate at top; pistillate spikes usually 3, yellow, 

 3-5 cm. long, short-stalked or sessile; perigynia 7-8 mm. long, ovate, turgid, 

 strongly nerved, with a stout 2-toothed beak; scales pale, acuminate, much 

 shorter. Wet places, quite common. 



Carex retrorsa Schwein. Tufted; stems stout, smooth, 40-80 cm. high; 

 leaves 5-10 mm. broad, longer than the stem; bracts leaf-like; staminate 

 spikes usually 1-4, slender, 2-5 cm. long, sometimes only part of the terminal 



