372 



CYPERACEAE. 



VOL. I. 



35. Carex disperma Dewey. Soft-leaved Sedge. 

 Fig. 902. 



Carex tenella Schk. Riedgr. 23. /. 104. 1801. Not Thuill. 



1799- 

 Carex disperma Dewey, Am. Journ. Sci. 8: 266. 1824. 



Light green, rootstocks elongated, very slender, culms 

 almost filiform, rough, commonly reclining, 6'-2 long. 

 Leaves soft, i"-|" wide, spreading, usually shorter 

 than the culm ; spikes very small, androgynous, only i- 

 5-flowered, distant or the upper close together, the 

 bracts absent or bristle-form; perigynia ovoid-ellipsoid, 

 very thick, hard, finely many-nerved, about i" long and 

 f ' thick, tipped with a very minute, smooth, entire beak ; 

 scales ovate, hyaline, acute to cuspidate, shorter than or 

 the lower equalling the perigynia ; achene closely filling 

 perigynium; stigmas 2. 



In bogs, Newfoundland to British Columbia, New Jer- 

 sey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Colorado and Cali- 

 fornia. Also in Europe and Asia. June-Aug. 



36. Carex trisperma Dewey. Three-fruited Sedge. Fig. 903. 



Carex trisperma Dewey, Am. Journ. Sci. 9: 63. 1825. 

 Carex trisperma var. Billingsii Knight, Rhodora 8: 185. 

 1906. 



Bright green, culms filiform, weak, often divari- 

 cate-spreading above lowest bract, usually reclining 

 or spreading, very slightly roughened, i-2i long, 

 the rootstocks slender, often elongated. Leaves flac- 

 cid, flat, i" wide or less; spikes i to 3, only 1-5- 

 flowered, gynaecandrous, widely separated, the lowest 

 much exceeded by a bristle- form bract '-5' long; 

 perigynia oblong, ascending, green, ii"-2" long, 

 nearly i." wide, very finely many-nerved, narrowed 

 at both ends and tipped with a very short, nearly 

 entire beak, the margins smooth or nearly so; scales 

 ovate or ovate-lanceolate, hyaline with a green mid- 

 vein, acute, somewhat shorter than the perigynia; 

 stigmas 2. 



In swamps and wet woods, Newfoundland to Sas- 

 katchewan, south to Maryland, Ohio, Michigan and Ne- 

 braska. Ascends to 2500 ft. in Vermont. June-Aug. 



Carex tenuiflora Wahl. Sparse-flowered Sedge. Fig. 904. 



Carex tenuiflora Wahl. Kongl. Vet. Acad. Handl. (II.) 24: 

 147. 1803. 



Light green, culms very slender or filiform, erect or 

 reclining, rough above, 8'-2 long, loosely caespitose 

 and stoloniferous. Leaves i"-i" wide, flat, usually 

 much shorter than the culm; spikes 2-4, gynaecan- 

 drous, subglobose, few-flowered, about 2!" in diameter, 

 usually bractless, densely aggregated into an ovoid or 

 suborbicular head; perigynia pale, oblong-obovoid, 

 densely puncticulate, coriaceous, obscurely nerved, nar- 

 rowed at both ends, ii"-i" long, a little more than 

 f" wide, almost beakless, spreading, smooth or nearly 

 so; scales white with green midrib, acute or obtusish, 

 about equalling the perigynia ; achene nearly filling 

 perigynium ; stigmas 2. 



In bogs, New Brunswick and Hudson Bay to Manitoba, 

 south to Maine, Massachusetts, central New York and Min- 

 nesota. Local. Also in Europe and Asia. Summer. 



