CYPERACEiE. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 577 



• Var. eil6rvis, Boott. Scales sometimes pointless ; prrifjynin nenrhf or wholly 

 nerveliss; sj)ii<cs often bnvctless. — Hudson lliver, New Yorii, ./. A. Ritisell. — 

 Distingnislied Ironi C. cepiuiloiUea by its rigid culm, narrower leaves, and 

 firmer perijiynium, spongy at the base. 



25. C l*6sea., Sclik. Sj>ikcs 4-8, the 2 uppermost fipprn.rinialc, the others <tll 

 distinct, (tiid the loirest ojlen leinote ; perigijiiia ohlun<j (about 8-10 in eaeli spike), 

 narrow at the base, widely diverging- at maturity, twice us Ion;/ as the Lioadly 

 orate obtuse scale. — Var. biixor, Buott, has tiie 4-6 sj)ikes smaller and more 

 separated, the scales less obtuse and with a rough mucronate point ; perigynia 

 more erect; "leaves narrower. — Var. radiAta, Dew, is still more slender, 

 almost capillary, and has only 3 or 4 remote and 3-4-flowered spikes. (C. 

 negle'eta, Tnckenn.) — Moist woods and meadows: common. 



26. C. retroflexa, Midil. Spikes 3-6, «// approximate, the 1-2 lowest dis- 

 tinct but not remote; peric/ynia (about 5 - 7 in each spike) ovale, or ovate-lanceo- 

 late, smooth on the mairjin and beak, not much exceeding the ovate-lanceolate painted 

 sc<de, widely spreading or reflexcd at maturity. (C. rosea, var. retroflexa, Torr., 

 Ci/p.) — Copses and moist meadows : less common than the last, from which it 

 is distinguished by the smaller approximate spikes, longer and sharper scales, 

 and especially, from every species in this subsection, by the smooth perigynium. 

 ***** Perigynia plano-convex, without a beak, of a thick and leathery texture, 



prominently nerved, smooth (except on the angles), with a minute and entire 

 or slightly notched white membranaceous point : achcnium conformed to the peri- 

 gynium, crowned with the short thick style: bracts like the scales (brown), 

 the lowest with a prolonged point : rootstock creeping. — Chordokhiz^. 



27. C. chordorlliza, Ehrh. Culms branching from the long creeping root- 

 stock (4' - 9' high), smooth and naked above, clothed at the base with short ap- 

 pressed leaves ; spikes in an ovoid head ; perigynia ovate, a little longer than the 

 scale. — Cold bogs. New York to Wisconsin, and northward. (Eu.) 



28. C. tenella, Schk. Spikes 2-6, very small, rather remote, or the upper 

 approximate, with 2 or 3, rarely A, fertile flowers; perigynia ovate, twice as long 

 as the scale. (C. loliacea, Schk. suppl., not of L. C. dispe'rma, Dew. C. gra- 

 cilis, Ed. 1, not of Ehrh.) — Cold swamps. New Enghtnd to Penn., Wisconsin, 

 and northward. — A slender species, 6'- 12' high, with long grassy leaves, 

 growing in loose tufts. (Eu.) 



§ 3. Spikes pistillate above, staminate at the base. 



* Spikes roundish-ovoid, rather small, more or less distant on the zigzng axis (closely 



aggregated in No. 30) : perigynia plano-convex, smooth, pale greeti, becoming 

 ichitish or silvery : scales white and membranaceous; the bracts resembling 

 them, or prolonged and bristle-shaped. — Cankscentes. 

 1- Perigynia mostly somewhat thickened and leathery, distinctly nerved, and with a 

 smooth or minntdij serrulnte short point, entire or sli't/htly notched at the apex. 



29. C..trisp6rma, Dew. Sjiikes 2-3, very sni'ill, ivith about ti frtile flow 

 ers, remote, the lowest with a long bract : perigynia oblong, with numerous slender 

 nerves, longer than the scale. — Cold swamps and woods, especially on moun- 

 tains. New England to Fenn., Michigan, and northward. — Resembling the last, 

 but larger spikes and fruit, and weak spreading culms, l°-2° long. 



OM 2.~) 



