156 



of it as Carexfiava L. and forma androgyna and forma lepidocarpa 

 and remarked that the forms with a nearly sessile staminate spike 

 and the forms with a strongly peduncled staminate spike were 

 often found in the same clump (Olney Car. Bor.-Am. 7). Bailey 

 treated the plant as Carex flava var. graminis Bailey, but prob- 

 ably included other elements in his conception of his variety, 

 especially the plant covered by his reference to the rough beaked 

 perigynia. The plant treated by Prof. Fernald as Carex flava 

 var. rectirostra Gaudin is almost entirely the present species, 

 as is also a portion of the plant he treats as Carex flava var. elatior 

 Schlecht. The description of the plant called Carex lepidocarpa 

 Tausch by me in Britton & Brown's Illustrated Flora (2d ed.) 

 is also taken from the present species. 



When the really distinguishing features of this plant are, how- 

 ever, understood, it is readily told from all its allies and should 

 no longer be confused with any of them. 



Carex flava, itself, is further distinguished by the noticeably 

 longer perigynia (5-6 mm. long), the leaf-blades averaging wider 

 (2-5 mm. wide), the sharper culms and more yellowish aspect of 

 the whole plant. The tendency of the pistillate spikes to be 

 staminate at the top is also much less developed. 



In North America genuine Carex lepidocarpa seems to be con- 

 fined to the extreme northeastern part. I have seen specimens 

 only from the Gaspi region and from St. Pierre. The extremely 

 long-peduncled staminate spike usually serves as an additional 

 means to distinguish this species. 



What I take to be the plant described from Maine by Kiiken- 

 thal (Pflanzenreich IV^": 673) as var. laxior of Carex lepidocarpa 

 Tausch is more closely allied, but in addition to the points 

 already discussed can be distinguished by its sharp-angled culms 

 and green shorter-beaked perigynia. The beaks of the perigynia 

 in this plant are exceptionally rough. 



I have seen numerous specimens of this species which show 

 that it ranges from Maine and Quebec as far West as Indiana 

 and Wisconsin. In New Jersey, where I have become well 

 acquainted with it, it is confined to the northwestern counties 

 where it occurs in wet calcareous meadows, in which situation 



