588 CTPERACEiE. (SEDGE FAMILY.) 



• * * Uppermost spike firtife-Jlowered at the apex (rarely all staminatc) : pistillate 

 spihs 3-5, oblong or cylimlriciil, loosely flowered, distant, on exserted jUi- 

 fonn stalks : bracts equalling or often exceeding the eulni : perigynia oblong, 

 with a short and abrupt notched point (obsolete in No. 80), green and mem- 

 branaceous at maturity : pistillate scales tawny or white. — GnAcfLLiJiJi. 

 t- Fertile npi/ces noddinq or pendulous. 



78. C. Davisii, Schw. & Torr. Fertile spikes oblong-rijlindiiral, rather thick ; 

 perigtpiid somewhat contracted at each end, scarcely longer than the conspicuous/ij 

 owned scale. (C. aristata, Z>e«;., not of R. Br. C. Torreyana, Dew.) — Wet 

 meadows, Massachusetts to Wisconsin, and southward. — Larger than the next 

 (1°- 2° high), and with stouter and longer sjjikes. 



79. C. form6sa, Dew. Fertile spikes oblong, short, all commonly with 2 or 

 3 barren flowers or empty scales at the base ; perigijnia somewhat contracted at 

 each end, nearli/ twice »s long as the pointed or cuspidate scale. — Wet meadows, 

 Massaciiusetts to W. New York. 



80. C. gracillima, Schw. Fertile .spikes linear, slender; perlggnia obtuse 

 and slightlif oblique at the orijice, longer than the oblong awned or awnless scale. 

 (C. digitalis, Schw. <^ Torr., not of Willd.) — Wet meadows, New England to 

 Kentucky, Wisconsin, and northward. — When the uppermost spike is alto- 

 gether staminate this resembles C. arctata ; but is distinguished by the obtuse 

 and sessile perigynium. 



t- -1- Fertile spikes marlg erect, all but the lowest short-pednucled or nearlg sessile. 



81. C. sestivalis, M. A. Curtis. Spikes slender, loosely flowered; peri- 

 gynia acutish at both ends, twice the length of the ovate obtuse or mucronate scale; 

 aciieniuiu somewhat stifjitate; sheaths of the lower leaves pubescent: otherwise 

 nearly as the last, but smaller (1°-1^° high). — Saddle Mountain, W. Massa- 

 chusetts (Dcwi-y), mountains of Penn., Virginia, and southward. 



§ 3. Periggnia wilhont a beak, luiiry (in No. 83 becoming smooth at maturity), 

 slightly injluted, bluntly 3-angled, obtuse, conspicuously nerved, with a mi- 

 nute abrupt straight point : bracts narrow, with very short or obsolete 

 sheaths, the lowest exceeding the culm ; pistillate scales tawny or white ; 

 spikes 2-4, e7-ect, the uppermost androgynous, fertile-flowered at the apex and 

 club-shaped: the rest all fertile. — Virescextes. 



82. C. vil'6scens, Muhl. Spikes oblong or cylindrical, on short stalks ; peri- 

 gyniu ovoid, nearly entire at the orifice, rather longer than the ovate awned scale ; 

 leaves and sheaths hairy. (C. costata, Schw.) — Rocky woods and hillsides, New 

 England to Michigan, and southward. — Culms rough, slender, l°-2°high: 

 fei-tile sjjikes G"-12" long. 



83. C. triceps, Michx. Spikrs ovoid, nearly sessile, closely approximate; 

 perigynia broadly obovoid, entire at the orifice, downy when young, smooth at 

 ma?i»-/'^, rather longer than the pointed scale; sheaths very hairy; leaves more 

 or less so. (C. hirsuta, Willd. C. virulula, Schw. t^- Torr., not of Michr.) — 

 Varies with the spikes rather longer and on stalks, and leaves nearly smooth. 

 (C. hirsuta, var. pednnculata, Schw. <f- Torr.) — Woods and meadows: the 

 smoother form southward. — Culm 12'- 18' high. Spikes 6'' - 9" long. 



