SEDGE FAMILY. 



8. Eleocharis ovata (Roth) R. & S. Ovoid Spike-rush. (Fig. 584.) 



Scirpus ovatus Roth, Catal. Bot. i: 5. 

 Eleocharis ovata R. & S. Syst. 2: 152. 



1817. 



Annual, roots fibrous, culms tufted, slender or 

 filiform, rather deep green, nearly terete, mostly 

 erect, 2 / -i6 / tall. Upper sheath i -toothed; spike- 

 let ovoid or oblong, obtuse, many-flowered, *"-$" 

 long, \ ff -\Yz' f in diameter; scales thin, oblong-or- 

 bicular, very obtuse, brown with a green midvein 

 and scarious margins; bristles 6-8 (sometimes fewer 

 or wanting), deciduous, usually longer than the 

 achene; stamens 2 or 3; style 2~3-cleft; achene pale 

 brown, shining, lenticular, obovate-oblong, smooth, 

 '_, " long or more; tubercle deltoid, acute, com- 

 pressed, scarcely constricted at the base, about 

 one-fourth as long as the achene and narrower. 



In wet soil. New Brunswick to Ontario and British 

 Columbia, south to Florida, Oregon, Nebraska and 

 Texas. Also in Europe. Variable. July-Sept. 



9. Eleocharis Engelmanni Steud. Engelmann's Spike-rush. (Fig. 585.) 



Eleocharis Engelmanni Steud. Sjrn. PI. Cjrp. 79. lS*c 

 Eleocharis orala var. Engelmanni BrittoB, Journ. N. 

 Y. Micros. Soc. 5: 103. 1889. 



Annual, similar to the preceding species, bat 

 culms commonly taller, sometimes 18' high. Up- 

 per sheath obliquely truncate or i -toothed; pike- 

 let oblong-cylindric or ovoid-cylindric, obtuse or 

 subacute, 2 // -8 // long, i"-i#" in diameter, many- 

 flowered; scales pale brown with a green tnidvda 

 and narrow scarious margins, ovate, obtuse, de- 

 ciduous; style 2-cleft; bristles about 6, not longer 

 than the achene; achene broadly obovate, brown, 

 smooth, lenticular; tubercle broad, low, covering 

 the top of the achene, less than one-fourth its 

 length. 



In wet soil, Massachusetts to northern N 

 west to Indiana, Arkansas, Texas and California. 



July-Sept. 



10. Eleocharis palustris (I,.) R. & S. Creeping Spike-rush. (Fig. 586.) 



Scirpus palustris I,. Sp. PI. 47. 1753. 

 Eleocharis palustris R. & S. Syst. 2: 151. 1817. 

 Eleocharis palustris var. vigens Bailey; Britton, Journ. 

 N. Y. Micros. Soc. 5: 104. 1889. 



Perennial by horizontal rootstocks, culms stout, 

 terete or somewhat compressed, striate, i-5 tall. 

 Basal sheaths brown, rarely bearing a short blade, the 

 upper one obliquely truncate; spikelet ovoid-cylin- 

 dric, 3 // -i2 // long, i%"-2" in diameter, many-flow- 

 ered, thicker than the culm; scales ovate-oblong or 

 ovate-lanceolate, purplish- brown with scarious mar- 

 gin and a green midvein, or pale green all over; bris- 

 tles usually 4, slender, retrorsely barbed, longer than 

 the achene and tubercle, sometimes wanting; sta- 

 mens 2-3; style 2-3-cleft; achene lenticular, smooth, 

 yellow, over y t ' f long; tubercle conic-triangular, 

 constricted at the base, flattened, one-fourth to one- 

 half as long as the achene. 



In ponds, swamps and marshes, Labrador to British Columbia, sooth to Flo 

 California. Also in Europe and Asia. Aug.-Sept. 



