352 CYPERACEiE. Scirptjs. 



Culm 2-10 inches high, rather rigid, finely striate, denselj' clothed towards the base with 

 imbricated sheaths, of which the upper ones bear rudimentary leaves. Spikes 2 lines long, 

 4 - 5-flowered, somewhat compressed. Scales of a yellowish brown color : the lowest one 

 narrow, and usually overtopping the spike ; the next a little shorter ; the others ovate, obtuse. 

 Bristles 6, longer than the achenium. 



Wet places on the high mountains of Essex county. Fl. July. 



•* Culm, many-spiked, 

 f Spikes lateral. 



4. SciRPUs DEBiLis, Puvsh. (Plate CXXXIX.) Weak-stalked Cluhrush. 



Culm terete, with naked sheaths or leaves at the base, striate ; spikes 3-5, ovoid, closely 

 sessile, the culm continued far beyond them ; scales broadly ovate, obtuse, mucronulate ; 

 style 2 - 3-cleft ; achenium broadly obovate, plano-convex, slightly punctate and obscurely 

 rugulose (dark brown and shining), shorter than the rigid bristles. — Pursli, fl. 1. p. 55 ; 

 Muld. gram. p. 34 ; Ell. sk. \. p. 79 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 21 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 48 ; Beck, 

 bot. p. 425 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 21 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 320 ; Kunth, enum. 2. p. 159. 



Culms 6-18 inches high, cespitose, usually with a few radical flattish or compressed 

 leaves at the base, and one or two naked sheaths. Spikes often solitary, but more commonly 

 3 (sometimes 5 or 6) growing from the side of the culm several inches below the summit, 

 3-5 lines long. Scales nearly orbicular, concave, membranaceous, mostly obtuse with a 

 small mucronate tip, yellowish on the sides, the centre green. Bristles 4-6, strong, some- 

 times only rudimentary. Stamens 3. Style mostly 2-cleft. Achenium much compressed, very 

 obtuse, the breadth nearly equal to the length, slightly mucronate, dark brown or nearly black 

 when mature ; the surface, when magnified, appearing a little rugulose, or waved transversely. 



Borders of lakes and rivulets, particularly in sandy soils : northern and western counties ; 

 also on Long Island. Fl. July. Fr. August. 



5. SciRPUS TRiQUETER, Linn. Chairmaker's Rush. 



Culm triquetrous or slightly winged, two of the sides concave, the other flat, nearly leafless, 

 or tiie sheaths at the base bearing one or two short leaves ; spikes 1-6, aggregated and 

 sessile, ovoid-oblong ; scales orbicular-ovate, membranaceous, mucronate, pubescent on the 

 margin ; anthers with a subulate fringed tip ; bristles slender, shorter than the achenium 

 style 2-cleft ; achenium doubly convex, acuminate. — Linn. mant. p. 29 ; Willd. sp. 1. p. 302 

 R. Br. prodr. 1. p. 223 ; Michx. fl. 1. p. 47 ; Muhl. gram. p. 33 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 322 

 Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 592 {suppl.); Kunth, enum. 2. p. 163. S. Americanus, Pers. syn. 1 

 p. 68 ; Pursh, fl. \.p. 56 ; Ell. sk. I. p. 80 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 21 ; Torr. fl. I. p. 47 

 Beck, bot. p. 425. S. pungens, Vahl, e?iu7n. 2. p. 255. S. mucronatus, Pursh, I. c. 



Culm 3-5 feet high, slender, mucronate at the extremity, very acutely triangular, and 



