216 Minnesota Plant Life. 



other instances they form long clustered groups made up of 

 numerous spikes of flowers. One of these little sedges is an 

 extremely common flower of early spring, dotting the prairies 

 with its little yellow spikes of staminate flowers below which 

 whitish spikes of pistillate flowers are formed. The yellow color 

 is given by the stamens themselves. 



Some of the sedges are robust, strong plants, almost like bul- 

 rushes in their general aspect, while others are very delicate, 

 low-tufted plants, bringing to mind the smaller sorts of grasses. 

 In the classification of this large genus of plants a variety of 

 characters are taken into consideration the number and posi- 

 tion of the flowers, the character of the sac which incloses the 

 fruit, the distribution, shape and color of the scales, the width, 

 length and texture of the leaves, the number of branches of the 

 stigma and the general distribution of the flowering tracts upon 

 the axis where they develop. Economically, sedges are by no 

 means as important as grasses; neither are their stems so val- 

 uable as fodder, nor do their fruits serve to feed mankind as do 

 those of the rice, wheat, rye and maize, all of which belong to 

 the other family of the order. Yet a considerable industry is 

 being developed in the manufacture of matting from one com- 

 mon Minnesota variety and the plants are not without their 

 uses. 



