Seirput.'] LXXXVIII. CYPERACE-E. 483 



Europe and central and Russian Asia, and North America. Not uncom- 

 mon in Britain. FL summer amd autumn. 



2. S.parvulus, Roem and Sch. (fig. 1093). Small S.A. small tufted 

 plant emitting creeping rootstocks, very closely allied to S. acicularis, 

 but the thread-like stems usually rather stouter and the spikelet rather 

 larger and pale-coloured. Flowers, hypogynous bristles, style and nut 

 the same as in S. acicularis, of which this may be a maritime variety. 

 Eleocharis parvula, Hook. 



In wet, sandy places, chiefly in salt marshes in western Europe. 

 Coasts of Devon, Dorset and Hants, and of Wicklow in Ireland. Fl. 

 summer. 



3. S. palustris, Linn. (fig. 1094). Creeping S. Rootstock often 

 creeping to a considerable extent, with numerous erect stems, often 

 densely tufted, and not 6 inches high at the edge of the water, more 

 distant, and a foot high or more when in the water ; all leafless, ex- 

 cept one or two short sheaths at their base, without leafy tips. Spike- 

 lets, solitary and terminal, oblong, 4 to 6 lines long. Glumes numerous, 

 closely imbricated, brown, with scarious edges, and green on the mid- 

 rib ; the outer bract only differing from the glumes in being rather 

 larger. Hypogynous bristles usually 4. Style 2-cleft. Not obovate, 

 crowned by a little conical tubercle, being the persistent base of the 

 style. Eleocharis palustris, Br. 



On the edges of pools and watery ditches, throughout the northern 

 hemisphere, and in some parts of the southern one. Frequent in 

 Britain. Fl, all summer. Specimens with the outer bract rather 

 broader, so as almost to enclose the base of the spike, are the S. 

 uniylumis, Link, and Watsoni, Bab. 



4. S, multicaulis, Sm. (fig. 1095). Many-stalked S. Very much 

 like the last, and perhaps a mere variety, but smaller, forming dense 

 tufts, with a few creeping offsets ; the stems more slender, often 

 slightly decumbent at the base, many of them barren and leaf-like. 

 Spikelet rather smaller. Styles usually, but not always, 3-cleft, the 

 nut becoming obovoid and triangular. Hypogynous bristles usually 6. 

 Eleocharis multicaulis, Br. 



In similar situations to S. palustris, and often mixed with it, but not 

 so much in the water ; recorded chiefly from northern and western 

 Europe. Not unfrequent in Britain. Fl. summer. 



5. S. pauciflorus, Lightf. (fig. 1096). Few-flowered S.In appearance 

 much like a starved, slender state of S. palustris, whilst the nut is nearer 

 that of S. ccespitosus. Stems slender and many of them barren, not 6 

 inches high, the sheaths without leafy tips. Spikelet small, not con- 

 taining above 5 or 6 flowers. Hypogynous bristles, 3-cleft style, and 

 obovoid nut, as in S. multicaulis, but the thickened base of the style is 

 considerably narrower, forming a tapering point to the nut, not a conical 

 tubercle. 



In moorlands, and the edges of pools, in northern and central Europe, 

 Asia, North America, and the mountains of southern Europe, but 

 scarcely an Arctic plant. In Britain, more frequent in Scotland. Ireland, 

 and northern England than in the south. Fl. summer. 



6. S. csespitosus, Linn. (fig. 1097). Tufted S. Stems 6 inches to a 

 foot high, densely tufted, covered for an inch or two at their base with 

 closely imbricated sheaths, the outer ones brown, the inner ones green, 



