GLUMIFLOK^E. 401 



Fig. 483. 

 Fig.484. ^>VX Fig.48.5. 



Fig. 483. Flower of Eriaphorum. Fig. 484. Female flower of Carex. 



Fig. 485. Section of the same, showing the ovary. 



Affinities, &c. This large Order of Glumaceous plants resembles in many 

 respects the Grasses, but has several marked distinctive characters, viz. 

 the tubular leaf-sheaths, the usually angular and solid stems, the general 

 reduction of the floral envelopes to a single bract or glume (2 additional 

 glumes exist in Carex and some other genera, and hypogynous bristles or 

 setae in Scirpus, JSriophorum, c.), and the fact of the embryo being 

 enclosed centrally in the base of the perisperm of the seed. From Resti- 

 aceae, some of which resemble Sedges in habit, they are distinguished by 

 the erect seeds, by the 1-celled ovary being formed of 2 or 3 carpels, and 

 by the leaf -sheaths not being slit. The floral formula for the male flower 



of Carex is Av, for the female flower G .., the brackets indicating the bracts. 



^r-> ^r-> 



Cladium has a succulent fruit. The subdivisions of the Order depend on 

 the distichous or imbricated bracts (glumes), general or partial fertility, 

 open or closed utricle, degree of development of perianth after flowering, 

 presence or absence of staminodes, form of base of style, nature of fruit, &c. 

 The tubular bract of Carex, sometimes called the " utricle " (an objectionable 

 term as it may be confused with the form of fruit so named), is, according 

 to McNab and Dyer, a foliar organ, single, or perhaps of two congenitally 

 united, in whose axil the flower is produced. 



Distribution. Universally diffused, especially in marshes and about 

 running streams. Carex and Scirpus belong chiefly to cool climates, 

 Cyperus, Mariscus, and others to warmer, while some appear ubiquitous. 

 Scirpus triqueter is found in Europe, South America, and Australia. In a 

 fossil state they are first recognized in the Lower Miocene. 



Qualities and Uses. The plants of this Order are generally devoid of 

 active properties, and are less nutritious than the Grasses ; but some have 

 bitter and astringent properties, while others are regarded as diaphoretics. 

 Several of them have some economic value. The rhizomes of Cyperus 

 low/us are astringent, those of C. rotundus contain an aromatic oil ; the 

 creeping stems of Carex hirta, arenaria, and other species have been used 

 as substitutes for Sarsaparilla. The rhizomes of Cyperus esculentus, C. 

 bulbosus, and some other plants of this Order, being tuberous and devoid 

 of noxious properties, are used locally as articles of food. Papyrus anti- 

 quorum, a tall Sedge, with a spongy pith, is celebrated as having furnished 



2D 



