THE SEDGES 



669 



for the plant is content with six inches of 

 growth on the wet margins of j^ools, 

 whereas it will strive to attain double that 

 height and more when the pool surrounds 

 it. There is a certain resemlilance to the 

 Plantain flowers in the dark brown col- 

 lection of glumes, flecked in colour with 

 their pale papery edges 

 and green keels. The 

 length of the head is not 

 usually more than half an 

 inch, the perianth having 

 four or six bristles, with 

 the flowers perfect. Cir- 

 cular at the base, the 

 stems have a tendency 

 to flatten above into 

 angles ; they are enclosed 

 in sheaths that terminate 

 squarely where the stem 

 escapes, as seen in those 

 of the illustration, at- 

 tached to the rhizome. 

 These sheaths are again 

 protected at their junc- 

 tion with the root by a 

 membranous bract - like 

 structure that is evolved 

 from the outer skin of 

 the root itself. 



When growing in-shore 

 the leaves are of a tuft- 

 ing habit, as are the 

 flowering stems ; but if 

 the plant is surrounded 

 by water, and the addi- 

 tional height is necessi- 

 tated, the stems become 

 more solitary, as if the 

 formative instinct re- 

 sorted to economical 

 measures. Since the effort 

 to maintain safety for the 

 flowers had extra calls made upon it, 

 the reser\-e force of the plant was lestricted 

 in the multiplication of stems. There is 

 something limited in the appearance of 

 this plant ; it scarcely appeals to us 

 as others of the Sedges do, nor does it 

 suggest that it has attraction for the insect 

 tribe. 



We have now come to the last of the 

 Sedges selected, and one that takes us at 

 once in mind towards the Rush tribe in 

 much of its exterior formation — Scirpiis 

 lacusiris, or what was once called the 



85 



SCIRPUS LACUSTRIS 



Common Bulrush. Nowadays most people 

 associate that name with the Reed Mace, 

 the club-headed Typhu latifolia. At first 

 glance we are reminded of the Soft Rush 

 in the upper portion of the long, vertical 

 stem, with its loose, pithy structure, yet 

 the straggling upright panicle of sjjikelets 

 recalls that of the Hard 

 Rush, whilst the two 

 flattened leaves showing 

 at the base of the stem 

 at once mark off a dif- 

 ferentiation from the 

 Rushes. The true Rush 

 has cylindric lea\-es. 



In respect of leaves, 

 Scirpiis lacusiris is vari- 

 able ; they become flatter, 

 longer and more grass- 

 like when floating in run- 

 ning water, whereas in 

 still water they are abbre- 

 viated and inclined to 

 roll in upon themselves 

 from the edges. The 

 plant is also found in a 

 leafless condition, when, 

 of course, it approaches 

 the Rushes in appearance 

 more nearly. In height 

 it surpasses either of the 

 two species named, rising 

 from three to as many 

 as eight feet ; the stem 

 is always spongy rather 

 than solid, although a 

 section may measure an 

 inch in diameter. 



There is a subtle but 

 distinct resemblance in 

 the character of the 

 umbel of flowering spike- 

 lets to that of the Flower- 

 ing Rush. These spikclets are a red-l)rown 

 colour, forming ()\-al, almost ])ointed groups. 

 Here we are reminded on the one hand 

 of the three-angled stems of the Carex 

 specialisation of the Sedges, and the grey, 

 bloomy stems of the Hard Rush on the 

 other. It is the same story woven within 

 the history of all development of sjxvies, 

 that of unity of ]X)ssibility expressed in 

 diversity, so that we may say quite rever- 

 ently, "None is afore or after other, none 

 is greater or less than another." 



Maud U. Cl.\kke. 



