400 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



dense heads of monoecious or rarely dioecious, small, 2-3-merous flowers, 

 each in the axil of a scarious bract ; the perianth double or rarely simple, 

 scarious ; the anthers 2-celled, introrse ; the fruit a 2-3-celled, 2-3-seeded 

 capsule ; seeds pendulous, winged or hairy, with a lenticular embryo at 

 the end of the perisperm remote from the hiluru. The membranous tube 

 surrounding the ovary represents the corolla, and thus places this Order 

 intermediate between the Glumaceous Orders and the Xyridacese, which 

 lead on through Commelynaceas to the Liliaceaa and their allies. The 

 plants are mostly natives of America and Australia. Eriocaulon septanyu- 

 lare occurs in the Western Islands of Scotland (Skye). 



RESTIACEvE are herbs or under-shrubs, generally without perfect 

 leaves; stems usually with slit-convolute leaf-sheaths; with spiked or ag- 

 gregated glumaceous, mostly unisexual flowers ; perianth-segments gluma- 

 ceous, 2-6, or seldom ; stamens 2-3, adherent to the inner perianth-seg- 

 ments ; anthers usually 1 -celled, rarely 2-celled ; ovary superior, 1-3-celled, 

 odd cell anterior, v ; ovule solitary in each cell, pendulous ; seeds peri- 

 spermic, embryo terminal. Principally distinguished from Cyperaceas by 

 the pendulous seed and terminal lenticular embryo, further also by the leaf- 

 sheaths being slit; from the Juncacese by the same characters, by the 

 stamens, when 3, being opposite the inner glumes, and by the usually 

 1-celled anthers. They "are without the membranous perianth between the 

 glumes and the ovary which occurs in Eriocaulaceae ; while Xyridaceae, 

 among the Petaloidese, have the floral envelopes in 2 circles, of which the 

 inner is petaloid. From Desvauxiaceae they differ in having 2 or 3 sta- 

 mens, and if with a 1-celled ovary usually 2 styles, and the distinct 

 perianth. In Lepyrodia hermaphrodita the flower has six stamens, and 

 the arrangement is typically Monocotyledonous, the odd cell of the ovary 

 anterior. The species occur chiefly in Australia and South Africa; one 

 occurs in Chili. The tough wiry stems have economic uses, for basket- 

 making, thatching, &c. Genera : Restio, L.; Thamnochortns,lB&Tg.; Lam- 

 procaulos, Mast. ;, Willdenovia, L. 



CTPEEACE^E. SEDGES. 

 Coh. Glumales, Benth. et Hook. 



Diagnosis. Grass-like or rush-like herbs, with fibrous roots and 

 solid stems, closed tubular leaf-sheaths, without ligules, and spiked 

 perfect or unisexual flowers, one in the axil of each of the gluma- 

 ceous imbricated bracts, destitute of any envelopes or with a 

 tubular bract (figs. 484 & 485), or with hypogynous bristles or 

 scales in its place (fig. 483) ; stamens definite, hypogynous, 1-7 or 

 10 or 12 ; anthers 2-celled ; the 1-celled ovary with a single erect 

 anatropous ovule forming in fruit a utriculus containing a seed 

 with a lenticular embryo enclosed in the base of perisperm. 

 ILLUSTRATIVE GENERA. 



Carex, Mich. 

 Kobresia, Willd. 

 Schoenus, L. 

 Cladiura, R. Br. 



Isolepis, R. Br. 

 Scirpus, L. 

 Eleocharis, R. Br 



Eriophorum, L. 

 Cyperus, L. 

 Papyrus, Willd. 



