CYPERACEja:. (sedge family.) 8^9 



4. C. distachyus, All. 2f NdjU. Root- Fig. 3G3. 

 stock clustered, creeping ; culms erect, triquetrous 

 above, 2-3-leaved at base, the lowermost reduced 

 to sheaths, the uj>per one ending in a linear limb. 

 Spikelets 2-5, sessile, in a lateral cluster, linear, 

 flattened, dlaclisJi-hroicn, often curved upward; 

 leaves of involucre 2, one very short, tlie otlier the 

 continuation of the culm ; glumes ovate, obtusish ; 

 stamens 3; akenes ovate-elliptical, mucronulatc, 

 convex at outer, flattish at inner face, two-thirds 

 as long as glume — Spring— Wet places and salt 

 marshes ; Sinai ; coast of Palestine and Syria. 



5. C. alopccuroi(le§, Rottb. 21 Root- 

 stock thick; culms thick, erect, triquetrous, leafy inflorescence of c 

 below. Umbel .1 to .2 broad, coinpound, rays un- distahcyus. 

 equal, corymlose at tip ; longer leaves of involucre much longer than 

 rays; spikelets in oblong-cylindrical, dense, crowded spikes, .01 to .02 

 long, .005 thick; glumes ovate-elliptical, straw-colored, with a green, 

 mucronate keel ; stigmas 2-3; akenes half as long as glume, obovate- 

 biconvex or triquetrous — Spring — Marshes of Htileh. 



6. C. pig-inaeas, Rottb. Tufted, .03 to .2; culms erect or dif- 

 fuse, overtopped by linear, acuminate leaves. Spikelets numerous, 

 oblong-lanceolate, densely crowded into a simple or compound, globu- 

 lar head, .005 to .01 in diameter, compressed, long-overtopped by the 

 leaves of the involucre ; glumes translucent, closely imbricated, oblong- 

 lanceolate, 5-7-nerved, with a green, mucronate keel ; stamen 1 ; style 

 bifid (rarely trifid) ; akene oblong, tapering at both ends, smooth, with 

 convex back and flattish face, oi\ if with 3 stigmas, triquetrous, half as 

 long as glume — Spring — Dried marshes and sands ; coast. 



7. C scliaBnoide§, Griseb. 1i Glaucescent; root-stock long- 

 creeping in sand; culms terete, stout, erect or incurved, base enclosed 

 with tawny sheaths and leaves. Leaves rigid, incurved, hded-groovcd, 

 as long as culm or longer. Clusters of spikelets sessile in dense, 

 spherical heads, .02 to .035 in diameter; leaves of involucre 3-4, un- 

 equal, dilated at base, horizontal, many times as long as head; spike- 

 lets ovate-oblong, compressed, scarcely 2-rankcd; glumes chestnut- 

 l)row7i, ovate, keeled, many-nerved, mucronate, the lower 1-2 larger, 

 sterile ; akene one-third as long as glume — Spring — Sands of coast. 



§. C, eonglomcratus, Rottb. 11 Tufted, glaucescent; root- 

 stock short, stoloniferous, with fibres often woolly ; culms teretish, rigid, 

 leafy at base. Leaves rigid, teretish, grooved below, as joug as culms 

 or shorter. Spikelets crowded into a single globular head, .01 to .03 

 in diameter, or crowded at the tip of a 3-4:-rayed umbel, oblong to ob- 

 long-linear, compressed, many-flowered; leaves of involucre 1-3, rigid, 

 unequal, the longest continuing the culm, overtopping the infiorcscence; 

 glumes straic -colored, ovate to ovate-oblong, keeled, obtuse or mucron- 

 ulatc, many-nerved; stamens 3 — Spring — Sands of coast; Arabia 

 Petrsea; southern Palestine. 



9. C. fu§ciis, L. Root librous; culms tufted, .1 to .4, erect or 

 diffuse, triquetrous, leafy below. Leaves linear, flat, somewhat shorter 

 than culm; inflorescence an unequally 3-7-rayed umbel, or a head; 

 leaves of involucre 3-4, unequal, longer than inflorescence, spikelets 



