46 F.xni.isii noTANY 



above, leafless excejjt near the base ; basal sheaths with lamina 

 Leaves setaceous, channelled, mostly radical. Bracts resembling the 

 leaves, commonly much longer than the heads. Spikelets fusiform, 

 arranged in lax spicate heads which taper towards the apex, 1 or 

 sometimes 2 of the heads terminal and 1 lateral head below the terminal 

 one. Glumes chestnut. Stamens 3; filaments dilated. Bristles 6, 

 3 of them about twice as long as the nut, with the denticulations 

 pointing upwards. Nut roundish-obovate-ovoid, compressed, about as 

 long as the flattened deltoid-subulate acuminate beak formed by the 

 persistent base of the style. 



In spongy bogs. Very rare. In the south-east of England, where 

 it occurs in Cornwall, Dorset mainland, Hants, Somerset, and Gla- 

 moro-anshire. Local, but widely distributed in the west of Ireland, 

 extending from co. Kerry to co. ^layo. 



England, Ireland. Perennial. Late Summer. 



Stems 4 to 20 inches high, very slender, with several leaves at the 

 base, the uppermost one sheathing the stem for some distance. Spike- 

 lets about I inch long, few in each head, and placed one above the 

 other ; the lower head on a long stalk, about half of which is included 

 in the sheath of the leaflike bract. Bristles unequal, 3 of them much 

 longer than the other 3, the longest ones about twice as long as the 

 nut. Nut pale yellowish brown ; the apical tubercle abruptly acumi- 

 nated a little above the deltoid base into a long subulate point. 



Brown Beak-Sedye. 



German, Braunc 'Moorsimse. 



SPECIES II.— RHYNCHOSPORA ALBA. VaU. 



Plate MDLXXXII. 



Reich. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. VHI. Tab. CCLXXXV. Pig. 678. 

 BUM, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 1082. 

 Schoenns albus, Linn. Sm. Engl. Bot. ed. i. No. 985. 



Subcajspitose. Rootstock very shortly creeping. Stems several, 

 close together in tufts, trigonous in the upper part, leafy in the lower 

 half ; basal sheaths mostly without a lamina. Leaves linear-setaceous, 

 channelled, mostly placed on the lower half of the stem. Bracts 

 resembling the leaves, equalling the heads or not more than twice as 

 long. Spikelets cylindrical-fusiform, arranged in dense corymbose 

 flat or round-topped heads ; 1 or 2 of the heads terminal, and 1 or 2, or 

 even 3, lateral heads below the terminal one. Glumes reddish-white 

 or veiy pale reddish-brown. Stamens 2 ; filaments slender. Bristles 



