28 TRIANDRIA — MONOGYNIA. [Eleoc/iaris. 



but frequentl}' passed by for the E. pnhistris. Fl. July. V- • — " ^oot 

 not creeping.^ Sheaths of the stem brown, not shining- ; the stnns are 

 always inclined, frequently bent and almost jirostrate. Bristles 6, shorter 

 and narrower than in tlie former species, the base not dilated, shorter 

 than tlie ripe fruit. The receptacle is elonijated above the insertion of 

 the filaments ; hence the ycrinen seems to be attenuated below. Stem 

 vith a stout central pith, with membranous tubes of looser texture 

 interposed between it and the external part. Some of the bristles in 

 the flower seem to be attached to the receptacle higher up than the base 

 of the filaments, but still 3 of these bristles are at the exterior base of 

 those filaments." Wilson MSS. 



3. E. pauci flora, Link, (chocolate-headed Spihe-rusli) ; stem 

 rounded its sheaths leafless, spike ovate naked, the 2 outer 

 glumes the larg^est obtuse but shorter than the spike, stigrnas 3, 

 style scarcely deciduous, not jointed. — Scirpus paucijlorus, E. 

 Bat. t. \.029'—S. Bccothryon, Ehrh. 



Moors in Scotland, not unfrequent. In England, rare ; near Yar- 

 mouth, Norfolk ; Anglesea, and Bangor in Wales. El. July, Aug. If. 

 — Habit of small plants of E. palustris. Fruit pale, obovate, trique- 

 trous, terminated by the withered rigid style, not swollen at the base 

 nor jointed, gradually tapering from the obtuse point of the fruit. Roots 

 fibrous, sending out jointed runners. 



4. E. ccespitosa. Link, (scaly -stalked Spike-rush); stem roui;ded, 

 or slightly compressed ( Wilsoii), sheaths with subulate leaves, 

 the two outermost glumes (fertile) longer than the very smsill 

 spikes and terminating in long rigid points, stigmas 3, style de- 

 ciduous, fruit mucronated with the narrow persistent base of the 

 style. — Scirpus ccespilosus, E. Bol. t. 1029. 



Moors and moist heathy jjlaces, every where. Fl. June, July. If.^ 

 A small species, 2 — 6 inches high. Bristles 6. Fruit obovate, trique- 

 trous, pale yellow, tipped with a mucro, as in most of the true Scirpi 



This plant is called " Deers Hair" in the Highlands, and yields an 

 abundant food to sheep on the mountains in spring. Upon Ben Lawers 

 I have found a variety, having the larger of the 2 outer glumes an inch 

 long, 4 times the length of the spike. 



3. E. aciculdris, Roem. et Sell, (least Spike-rush) ; stem seta- 

 ceous almost round, sheaths leafless, spike ovate acute, glumes 

 equal acute, stigmas 3, bristles 2 — 3. — Scirpus acic, E. Bat. 

 t. 749. — hulepis, Schlecht. — Scirpidium, Nees. 



Sides of lakes, and wet, sandy and marshy places, frequent. FL July, 

 Aug. If. — The most slender and delicate of the Spike-rnshes. Root 

 fibrous with filiform runners. Fruit obovate, oblong, compressed, pale 

 yellow, beautifully impressed with dotted lines, tipped with the almost 

 globose dark base of the style. 



' Not, indeed, as in E. palustris ,- but it certainly sends out root-stocks to the 

 lengtli ol 2 or 3 iiiclies, fioin wliicli fibres ])roceed below and new shoots above. 

 The roots eaniiot be called sinii)ly tufted. 1 dwell much on the characters of 

 this and the preceding species, because 1 bad myself fallen into an error in the 

 Fl. Scot, in considering them varieties of each other. Sir J. E. Smith lias 

 well distinguished them in the Ent/l. Flora ; and my friend Mr Wilson, with 

 his usual sagacity, has confirmed Smith's character and detected others, which 

 1 give in his own words. 



