CyPERACK.E. (SKDGE FAMILY.) 577 



5. DICHROMENA, Ki.hanl. (I'l. 4.) 



Spikelets agi^rogiitcd in a tonninal leafy-iiivcjlucraU^ li(\'iil, more or less com- 

 pressed, few-riowered, all l)Ut 3 or 4 of the flowers usually imperfect or abor- 

 tive. Scales imhricated somewhat in 2 ranks, more or less conduplicate or 

 boat-shaped, kecleil, white or whitisli. Stamens 3. Style 2-cl(;ft Terianth, 

 bristles, etc., noue. Acheuc lenticular, wrinkled transversely, <-rowiied witli 

 the persistent and liroad tuberded base of the style. — Culms leafy, from creej)- 

 iiii; perennial rootstocks; the leaves of the involucre mostly white at tlic bjise 

 (wlience the name, from S/s, duuhU, and xpufjia, color). 



1. D. leucocephala, Michx. Culm triangular (1-2^ 'I'S^O ; leaves 

 narrow ; those of tlie involucre 4 - 7 ; achen(^ truncate, not margined. — Damp 

 pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. Aug., Sept. 



2. D. latifblia, Baldwin. (PI. 4, fig. 1 - 5.) Culm stouter, nearly te- 

 rete; leaves broadly linear, those of the involucre 8 or 9, tapering from base to 

 apex ; achene round-obovate, faintly wrinkled, the tubercle decurreut ou its 

 edges. — Low piue-barrens, Va. to Fla. 



6. PSILOCARYA, Torr. Bald-rlsh. (PI. 4.) 



Spikelets ovoid, terete, the numerous scales all alike and regularly imbri- 

 cated, each with a perfect flower. Perianth (l)ristles) wholly wanting. Sta- 

 nieus mostly 2. Style 2-cleft, its base or the greater part of it enlarging and 

 hardening to form the beak of the lenticular or tumid more or less wrinkled 

 achene. — Annuals, with leafy culms, the spikelets in terminal and axillary 

 cymes. (Name from y\>iK6s, naked, and Kapva, tiut.) 



1. P. seirpoides, Torr. Annual (4-10' high), leafy ; leaves flat; spike- 

 lets 20-30-Howered ; scales oblong-ovate, acute, chestnut-colored; achene 

 somewhat margined, beaked with a sword-shaped almost wholly persistent 

 style. (Rhynchospora seirpoides, Grai/.) — Inundated places, S. N. Eng. 



7. FIMBRISTYLIS, Vahl. (PI. 3.) 



Spikelets several - many-Howered, terete ; scales all floriferous, regularly 

 imbricated in several ranks. Perianth (bristles, etc.) none. Stamens 1-3. 

 Style 2-3-cleft, often with a dilated or tumid base, which is deciduous (except 

 in n. 4) from the apex of the naked lenticular or triangular achene. Other- 

 wise as in Scirpus. — Culms leafy at base. Spikelets in our species umbelled, 

 and the involucre 2- 3-leaved. (Name compounded oi/imliria, a fringe, and 

 sti/lus, style, which is fringed with hairs iu the genuine species.) 

 * Sti//e 2<lrft,Jlatttned and dilate. ; achene lent icuhir ; tubercle soon deciduous ; 

 spikelets mani/-JIowcred. 



1. F. spadicea, Vahl, var. cast^nea, Gray. Culms (1-2^° high) 

 tufted from a perennial root, rlyld, as are the thread-form convolute-channelled 

 leaves, smooth; spikelets ovate-oblong becoming cylindrical, dark chestnut- 

 color (2" thick) ; stamens 2 or 3 ; achene veri/ vilnuteli/ striate and reticulated. 

 — Salt marshes along the coast, N. Y. and N. J. to Fla. July -Sept. — Scales 

 lighter colored than in the tropical form. 



2. F. l^xa, Vahl. (1-1. 3, fig. 1 -.').) Culms slender (2-12' high) from 

 an annual root, ueak, grooved and Hattish ; leaves llmar, flat, rUlate-ilentlcutal^ . 



37 



