Civrx. CYPERACE/E. 239 



densely punctate and the lower reddish sheaths sparingly fibrnus-reticnlate : bracts 

 foliaceous, without slieaths, the lowest much exceeding the stem, tlie next above ex- 

 ceeding its spikelet and sometimes the stem ; auricles ferruginous, oblong : spike 1^ 

 to 2 inches long, of from .3 to pur[)lo and glaucous densely llowered spikelets 3 to 

 y lines long and 3 lines thick, tlie u[iperniost obovoid or clavate, male at least below, 

 the others female, ellipsoidal, sessile and contiguous or the lowest an inch distant on 

 a very short included iicilunde ; scales pur[)le, pale in the middle, oblong or ovate, 

 .acute, ciliato at top or roughly cuspidate : i)erigynium triangular-ovoid, ventricosc, 

 tapering to a bid(!iitato orilico or short bcai<, the upper margins serrate an<l the tooth 

 hispid, sessile, nerved, not granular, longer and broader than tlu>, scale : nutlet tri- 

 angular-obovoid, produced at base, nuich shorter than the perigynium, punctate, 

 chestnut-colored. 



In tlic Coast Ranges ; Salinas Valley, in rather diy soil (Brcvrr, n. r>74) ; Paclieco Pass, Santa 

 Clara County {Bolamler, n. 4837) anil Kcul iMountain, Hnniholdt County, Bo/ander, n. 6476. 

 Diirering from the last in the longer bracts, the serrate margins of the |ierigyniuni, the longer 

 liis[>i(l teeth, and the shorter scales. Dr. lioott in a letter of 24th April, 18tJ3, named the Sali- 

 nas plant C. bifida, but gave no character. 



3G. C. atrata, Linn. Cespitose : stem \ to 2\ feet high, often cernuous at top : 

 leaves 1^ to 4 lines broad, shorter than the stem : bracts without sheaths, the lowest 

 about equalling the stem ; auricles purple, often connate : spike ^- to 1| inches long 

 and 4: to 8 lines thick, of 3 to G ellipsoidal or oblong-cylindrical s})ikclets G to 18 lines 

 long, contiguous, sessile and erect or peduncled and drooping, the lowest rarely sub- 

 radical, the uppermost male at base or rarely entirely so, the rest female or very 

 sjjaringly male at bottom ; scales dark or reddish purple, ovate and obtuse or acute, 

 or the upper lanceolate and acuminate or cuspidate : ]ierigynium membranous, yel- 

 lowish or more or less ferruginous, elliptical, round-oval, or obovate, compressed 

 above, triangular below, abruptly or gradually rostcllate Avith an emarginate or 

 bidentato purplo orifice, smooth, gramdar, nerveless, broader and longer or shorter 

 than the scale : nutlet olive-colored, triangrdar-ellipsoidal, attenuate at base, much 

 shorter than the loosely investing perigynium. — Eeichenb. 1. c, t. 23G (f. aterrivui, 

 Hoppe), 237; Boott, 111. iii. 114, t. 3G2-3G5. 



Var. nigra, Doott. Spikelets roundish, ca]ntate : scales obtuse or abruptly apicu- 

 lato with the nerve projecting : perigynium often scabrous. — 111. t. 3G3. C. nigra. 

 All. ; Reichenb. 1. c, t. 23G. 



Var. erecta. Stem \\ to 3^ feet high, sharply angled, smooth or scabrous 

 above : leaves Hat, 1 to 2^ lines broad, the sheaths purplo : lowest bract foliaceous, 

 about equalling the stem, the rest scah* like and cnspidate, shorter than their s|)ike- 

 lets : spiko purple, oblong, 1 to 3 inches long, of 3 to G erect spikelets \ to 1 inch 

 long and 1 to 3 lines thick, the uppermost clavate (rarely wholly male and cylindri- 

 cal), the others oblong, crowded, sessile, or the lowest U- inches distant, or less, and 

 peduncled; peduncle not exceeding \\ inches in length; scales purple with pale 

 midnerve, ovate or lanceolate, cuspidate : perigynium membranous, more or less pur- 

 ple or ferruginous witli pale margins, obovoid, compressed-triangular, abruptly end- 

 ing in a very short cylindrical sharply bidenticulate beak, granular and nerveless or 

 obscurely nerved : nutlet chestnut-colored, stipitate, much shorter than the peri- 

 gynium. 



In the Sierra Nevada, not rare, from r>,nOO feet (Big Trees, Bnlnndrr) to 10.000 or 12,000 feet 

 altitude, both the typical form and the varieties. The sjiecies is a very variable one and widely 

 distributed, ranging in America from Greenland and the Arctic Ocean to the White MountJiins, 

 Colorado and Utah, Northern Nevada and California, and also frequent in the alpine regions of 

 Europe and Asia. The stamens, according to Goodenough, are sometimes only 2 ; stigmas 3 or 2. 

 An emi>ty short-sheathed bract is often found an inch or two below the spikes. 



37. C. heteroneura. Stem 2 feet high, slender, sharply angled, smooth : leaves 

 \\ or 2 lines broad, Hat, shorter than the stem : bracts clasping, the lower two foli- 

 aceous, about equalling the stem ; auricles small and scarioiis, pale : spikelets 4 or 5 ; 



