26o 



MONO CO T YLED ONS. 



ground stem or root-stock which each year grows a few inches, forms new 

 attachments by roots to the soil, and thus the plant may spread from year 

 to year. This underground stem, as seen, has only scaly leaves. The 

 upright stems reach a height of two to three feet, and are prominently 



three-angled, as are most of 

 the species of this large genus. 

 The leaves are three-ranked, 

 and consist of a long sheathing 

 base and a long narrow blade. 

 The flowers, as we see, are 

 clustered at the end of the 

 stem, or sometimes additional 

 ones arise in the axils of the 

 leaves lower down on the stem. 

 The staminate flowers form a 

 slender, short spike, terminat- 

 ing the stem, while the pistil- 



late flowers 

 spikes arising 



form several 

 as branches. 



Fig. 336. 



Flowers of Carex lupulina; staminate flower spike above, three 

 pistillate flower spikes below. Details of pistillate and staminate 

 flowers shown at the right. 



The flowers are very much reduced here, and each of the pistillate flowers 

 consists of one pistil which is surrounded by a flask-shaped scale, the/m- 

 gynium. These perigynia can be distinctly seen upon the spike. At the 

 apex of the perigynia the three styles emerge. Just below each perigynium 



