Mr. Tuckerman, on some Plants of New England. Al 
6. Bigelovii, (mihi): spicis feemineis 2-5 elongatis remotius- 
culis laxis inferioribus patentibus longe pedunculatis. C. Bige- 
lowti, Torr. in Schwein. Anal. Tab. C. Washingtoniana, Dew. 
Car. in Sill. Jour. 10, 262, C. saxatilis, 8. Torr. Cyp. ex parte. 
‘Hab. («.) Greenland, Vahl; Arctic America, Drummond ; Lab- 
rador, Schlechtendal; White Mountains, and Great Haystack, 
N. H.; Chin of Mansfield, Camel’s Rump, and other high peaks 
of the Green Mountains, Vt. Also on the mountains of Essex 
County, N. Y., Mr. Macrae. (8.) Mount Washington, and other 
of the White Mountains; Chin of Mansfield. 
It seems probable that the normal state of Carex rigida is tri- 
stigmatical. In ten mature achenia from the Lapland plant, from 
a Norwegian specimen, and from the Scottish C. rigida, I have 
observed in all the same approximation to a three-angled shape, 
which is noticeable in our plant, and in it becomes at last con- 
spicuous, and the angles quite distinct. It is worthy of note, 
moreover, that this Carex very often fails to perfect its fruit. 
In the greater part of my specimens, from Scotland, Lapland, 
Germany, Greenland, and New Hampshire, the perigynia are 
shrivelled, and without apparent vestiges of any achenium. 
These observations are confirmed by Koch, who introduces the 
character “subtrigonis” in his diagnosis of the species; and by 
Drejer, (1. c.) who inserts “stigmata 2, rarius 3,” in his descrip- 
tion of it. The variety @. is distinguished as being perhaps the 
most luxuriant and developed state of the species known, and is 
probably confined to this continent. It attains to a height of 18 
inches, with spikes often an inch and a half long, which are 
commonly loosely flowered; the lower ones somewhat remote, 
and on spreading peduncles from half to more than an inch long. 
The fruit of C. rigida seems to vary considerably. A perigynium 
of the Scottish plant agreed so nearly with one of ours, as to be 
almost undistinguishable under the microscope, while neither 
perfectly agreed with the fruit of the Lapland and Norwegian 
forms. In the last the perigynium is conspicuously nerved; in 
the Scottish and ours much less so, and sometimes not at all; in 
the Norwegian, the whole surface is covered with dark reddish 
points; in the Scottish these are nearly, but not wholly (as 
Schkuhr would seem to intimate, 1, 55,) wanting, or rather their 
color is more or less wanting, which is also the case in ours. 
The achenia also differ considerably, which is in a measure 
Vol. xtv, No. 1.—April-June, 1843. 6 
