ORDER CXXXIX. CYPERACE.E. 



211 



6. FIMBRlSTYLIS. 



Spike several or many-flowered. Glumes imbricated in regu- 

 lar rows. Perianth of bristles none. Stamens 1 3. Style 2 

 S-cleft, with a bulbous base, which is deciduous or persistent 



1. T. autumnalis. 



Autumn Club-rush. 



Culms low, slender, compressed, tufted ; leaves narrow-linear, flat, acute, 

 shorter than the stern; involucre 2-leaved ; spikes oblong, acute, solitary, or in 

 little clusters, forming a decompound umbel of unequal rays; glumes ovate- 

 lanceolate, brownish, mucronate ; stamens 2 3 ; style 3-cleft, entirely decidu- 

 ous. A low grassy little plant, common in muddy grounds. Culms 8' 8' high. 

 Aug. Oct. 



2. F. capillaris. 



Annual Club-rush. 



Culms nearly naked, capillary in dense little tufts; leaves setaceous, shorter 

 than the culms, with sheaths, hairy at the throat ; involucre 2 8-leaved ; spikes 

 ovoid, pedunculate, in a more or less compound, paniculate umbel ; glumes ob- 

 long, brownish ; stamens 2 ; style 8-cleft, the bulbous base persistent A very 

 delicate species, sufficiently distinguished by its setaceous leaves and culms, 

 which are 8' 6' high. Common in sandy fields. Aug. An. 



7. RHYNC6SPORA. 



Flowers in ovate, several-flowered, loose spikes. Lower glumes 

 usually empty ; upper ones often with imperfect flowers. Peri- 

 anth of 6 bristles. Stamens usually 3. Style 2-cleft, Achenia 

 lenticular, or somewhat globose, coherent with the bulbous, per- 

 sistent base of the style. 



1. R. alba. White Beak-rush. 



Culm slender, 8-angled above, leafy ; leaves linear, very narrow, almost seta- 

 ceous, channelled ; spikes lanceolate, white, in corymbose, axillary and termi- 

 nal fascicles, on slender peduncles; glumes lanceolate ; achenium ovoid, shorter 

 than the bristles, with a slender beak or tubercle nearly as long as itself. A very 

 Blender and graceful grassy plant, distinguishable by the white glumes of its 

 spikes. Culm 10' 18' high. July Aug. 



2. R. glomerata. 



Beak Rush. 



Stem slender, triangular, leafy ; leaves linear, flat, rough on the edge ; spikes 

 oblong-ovate, in dense, very distant, axillary and terminal clusters, on long pe- 

 duncles, sometimes in pairs from the same axil ; achenium obovoid, as long as 

 the tubercle; bristles rough backwards, equalling the tubercle. A common 

 species, distinguished from the last by the deep brown spikelets and remote 

 clusters. Common in wet grounds. Culm 10' 20' high. July Aug. 



8. OLlDIUM. 



Flowers polygamous, in a loose, oblong or ovate spike ; lower 

 glumes empty; terminal ones bearing a perfect or fertile flower; 

 intermediate ones bearing a staminate or imperfect flower. Peri- 

 anth of bristles, none. Style 2 3-cleft, deciduous. Achenium 

 somewhat globose, hard and corky, without a tubercle. 



1. C. mariscoides. 



Twig-rush. 



Culm leafy, obscurely triangular, erect; leaves narrow-linear, channelled, 

 much shorter than the culm ; spikes in heads or clusters of 58, arranged in 

 small, compound cymes or umbels of unequal rays, which are lateral, on very 

 long peduncles, or terminal ; glumes light tawny-brown; styles 3-cleft; ache- 

 nium ovoid-globose, with a short beak left by the deciduous style. A plant 

 much resembling the species of the last genus. Common in meadows and low 

 grounds. Culm 12' 21' high. July Aug. 

 9. CAREX. 



Flowers monoecious ; the two kinds are either ANDROGYNOUS, 

 that is combined in the same spike, or else arranged in different 

 spikes ; rarely dioecious. Glumes single, 1-flowered, imbricated 

 without order. Stamens 3, rarely 2. Stigmas 2 3. Achenium 

 inclosed in a perigynium, or inflated persistent sac, contracted 

 and closed at apex, and crowned with more or less of the persist- 

 ent base of the style. An immense genus of perennial, grass- 

 like plants, bloominy in spring, and abounding every where. 



1. Stigmas 2. 



A. Spikes several, androgynous. 

 * Spikes barren below, or above, or dioecious. 



1. C. bromoides. Slender Swamp Sedge. 



8tm slender, leafy ; spikes several, approximate, oblong-lanceolate, alter- 



nate, lower ones barren, or all often so ; perlgynia erect, lanceolate, acuminate, 

 bifid, longer than the lanceolate glume. A slender species common in swamps 

 and meadows, growing in tufts. Stem 1CK 20' high. 



1 Spikes staminate above. 



2. C. cephalophora. 



Pasture Sedge. 



Stem rather stout ; spikes 4 6, closely aggregated in an ovoid, bracteate head ; 

 the lower ones sometimes a little remote ; perigynium compressed, broad-ovate, 

 somewhat nerved, rough on the margin, green when mature, scarcely longer 

 than the ovate glume, which ends in a rough point. A common species in dry 

 fields and woods, distinguished by its short, dense, ovoid heads. Stem 6' 12' 

 high. 



3. C. Muhlenbergu. Muhlenberg's Sedge. 



Spikes 4 7, closely approximate, arranged in an oblong head ; perigynium 

 very broadly ovate, nearly orbicular, nerved, margined, ending in a short, bifid 

 beak, green when mature, as long as the ovate scale, which ends in a rough 

 point. A species easily distinguished from the last by its pale green color, Its 

 looser spikes in an oblong head and the orbicular perigynium. Not uncommon 

 in fields and woods. 



4. C. sparganioides. 



Pale Sedge. 



Spikes 7 10, ovoid ; upper ones more or less aggregated ; lower usually dis- 

 tinct, and more or less remote ; perigyninm broad-ovate, not nerved, rough on 

 the margin, compressed, margined, diverging, hispid, green when mature, about 

 twice as long as the ovate, acute glume ; style short, swelling at base. A very 

 common species, with a stout stem and pale green foliage, distinguished espe- 

 cially by Its perigyninm twice as long as the glume. It often appears with 18 

 branching spikes at base. Another form has the spikes all aggregated Into a 

 close head. Common in moist grounds. 



5. C. vulpinoidea. 



Fox Sedge. 



Spikes numerous, very dense, generally branching, closely aggregate, form- 

 ing an oblong, dense, compound spike, usually furnished with setaceous bracts ; 

 perigynium ovate, broad at base, small, compressed, margined, nerved with a 

 short, bifid, abrupt beak, yellowish when mature, scarcely longer than the ovoid 

 glume. A very common species in low grounds, distinguished by its densely 

 aggregated, compound spike. The perigynium and glume vary much In shape 

 and size, and are often ovate-lanceolate. Stem 15' 20' high. 



6. C. teretiuscula. 



Spike-flowered Sedge. 



Spikes many, with short, appressed branches, forming a loose panicle, with 

 apparently spicate divisions ; bracts terminating In bristly points ; perigynium 

 ovate, acute, margined, convex on both sides, on a short stalk, broad and nerved 

 at base, dark brown when mature, rather longer than the ovate, acute glume. 

 A species not uncommon in swamps and bogs, distinguished by Its paniculate 

 inflorescence, with almost spicate branches. Culms 18' 24' high, growing in 



tufts. 



7. C. stipata. 



Three-cornered Sedge. 



Culm thick, sharply 3-angled, with concave sides ; spikes 612, aggregated, 

 lower ones often distinct, and sometimes branching; perigyninm lanceolate, 

 round and truncate at base, destitute of a margin, on a short stalk, nerved, ta- 

 pering to a long, bifid beak, yellowish when mature, and diverging, much longer 

 than the lanceolate glume. A common species in wet grounds, sufficiently dis- 

 tinguished by the thick, 8-angled culm, which is 10' 18' high. 



8. C. rosea. 



Hose Sedge. 



Culm low, slender; spikes several-flowered, 35, two uppermost usually 

 approximate, the rest distinct, more or less remote ; perigynia oblong, narrowed 

 at base, margined, rough on the margin, compressed with a bifid beak, diverg- 

 ing and stellate when mature, twice as long as the broad-ovate, obtuse glume, 

 green at maturity. A slender species, 8' 15' high. Common in low grounds 



and woods. 



* * * Stamens at the base of the spikelets. 



9. C. stellulata. Star Sedge. 



Spikes 86, distinct, at length obovate or globose ; perigynia ovate, broad at 

 base, divergent, stellate at maturity, compressed, nerved, margined, terminating 

 in a short, bifid beak, longer than the ovate, acute, whitish glume. A slender 

 species, very common in low grounds and meadows, and distinguished by its 

 stellate perigynia, which are quite variable In this species, being often simply 

 ovate, with narrower glumes. It is also sometimes dioscious. Culms 8' 15- 

 high. 



