68 



wool at the base of each spikelet while 5. cyperinus In a nearby 

 marsh was hardly developed to a stage where the inflorescence 

 was even noticable. A reference to the manual quickly indicated 

 that the plant in question was Scirpus pedicellatus Femald, a 

 well marked species of alluvial thickets and swamps ranging 

 from Quebec and New England westward across the northern 

 border to Wisconsin but not previously known south of Con- 

 necticut. 



Apart from the earlier flowering period, which is a striking 

 field character even in August when the slender tangled spikelets 

 present nothing but a naked purplish rachis terminated by a 

 tuft of empty scales, the species seems to be quite clearly dis- 

 tinguished from near relatives by well marked characters. 

 The slender pedicelled spikelets readily separate it from S. 

 cyperinus in which the spikelets are clustered in close, tight 

 glomerules. From Scirpus atrocinctus Fernald it is distinguished 

 by the thicker culms, broad firm leaves averaging about seven 

 millimeters in width, and stramineous involucels almost uni- 

 form in color from tip to base. Scirpus Eriophorum Mx. with 

 a range from Connecticut to the Gulf States and Arkansas, 

 mostly near the coast, resembles S. pedicellatus but the pale 

 brown scales and light colored wool of the latter species shows 

 no trace of the deep red-brown coloring that is so characteristic 

 of S. Eriophorum. 



When such a pronounced difference is clearly correlated with 

 a perfectly distinct geographical range it would seem consistent 

 to recognize the plant as a definite entity rather than force it 

 into a composite species where its identity and significance 

 would, to a great extent, be lost in an unwieldy series of variants. 



Bushkill, Pa. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CLUB 

 Meeting of April ii, 1922 



The meeting of April 11, 1922, was held in the botanical 

 lecture-room of Columbia University, beginning at 8:15 P. M. 



Miss Louise Dosdall, St. Paul, Minn., and Mr. William Gavin 

 Taylor, Bloomfield, New Jersey, were elected to membership. 



The scientific program consisted of a talk by Professor H. M. 

 Richards on "Some Imi^ressions of Jaj)ancse Vegetation." 



