242 



CYPERACEAB (SEDGE FAMILY) 



trigonous-ovoid, twice longer than the very thin obtuse scales. 



— Low woods, Mass. to Fla. and La., local. June, July. 

 Fig. 481. 



127. C. laxiflora Lam. Slender but mostly erect, 2-5.7 

 dm. high ; basal leaves 2.;>-7 mm. wide, rather soft ; stami* 

 nate spike peduncled or at least conspicuous ; 

 pistillate spikes 2-4, scattered, peduncled or 

 the upper one sessile, 

 loosely flowered, cylin- 

 dric, 1.5-3 cm. long, 

 erect or the lower loosely 

 spreading ; perigynia 

 obovoid, conspicuously 

 nerved, the short entire 

 beak much bent or re- 

 curved; scales thin and 

 white,blunt orcuspidate, 

 mostly shorter than the 

 perigynia. — Rich woods 

 and meadows, e. Que. 

 to w. Ont.,and southw. 

 May-July. Fig. 482. 



— Exceedingly variable, n 453. c. lax., 



ji n r.^rrnhno.rr.<. passlug by mauy trausl- 4S2. C. laxiflora. v-graciuima. 



isl. C. ptychocarpa. ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ following. 



Var. graclllima Boott. Similar; but with short (0.5-1.3 cm, long) oblong 



-loser-flowered spikes. — Vt. to Ont., and southw. Fig. 483. 



Var. patulifblia (Dewey) Carey. Leaves 

 0.6-2 cm. broad; staminate spike prominent, 

 mostly stalked ; pistillate spikes long (2-4.5 

 cm.) and alternately flowered, scattered and 

 peduncled ', perigynia'2.5-Amm.long, ellipsoid, 

 attenuate at both ends, mostly less prominently 

 nerved, and the beak not strongly recurved. 

 — Me. to Va., O., Mich., and Ont. Fig. 484. 



Var. Michaiixii Bailey. Tall and compara- 

 tively stout, 4-6 dm. high ; leaves 0.7-1.2 cm. 

 broad ; staminate spike large and stalked ; pis- 

 tillate spikes scattered, all but the upper one 

 prominently peduncled, 1.2-3 cm. 

 long ; perigynia very large, 4-6 

 mm. long, divaricate. (Var. divari- 

 cata Bailey.)— Pa. to Ala. and 

 Tex. Fig. 485. 



Var. styloflexa (Buckley) Boott. 

 Very weak and slender, 3-9 dm. 

 high ; leaves 3-6 mm. wide ; stam- 

 inate spike usually peduncled ; 

 pistillate 2-3, scattered, few-flow- 

 ered, 0.5-2 cm. long, lowest droop- 

 ing ; perigynia oblong-fusiform, 



4-5 mm. long, very long-pointed; scales often brown-tinged. (0. 



styloflexa Buckley.) — Ct. to Fla. and Tex. Fig. 486. 



Var. varians Bailey. Culms often ancipital, 2.5-5 dm. high; ^gg^ q j^^^^ 



leaves 0.3-1.2 cm. broad; pistillate spikes IS cm. long, linear- y. styl. 



cylindric to narrow-oblong, the two upper more or less contiguous 



to the staminate spike and sessile or nearly so ; bracts leafy and prolonged. —» 



Me. to Ont., la., and southw. 



Var. blanda (Dewey) Boott. Leaves 0.5-1.4 cm. broad; ciilms soft, ancipP 

 al. 1.5-6 dm. high ; pistillate spikes oblong^ 0.5-2 cm. long, the upper sessili 



4S4. C. lax.,v. pat, 



