24 ENGLISH ROTANY. 



At the present day rushes arc used for making mats and the bottoms of common 

 chairs; small baskets are also plaited with them by children in country places; and 

 curious and pretty little ornaments are often constructed from the pith inside the 

 Rush. 



SPECIES (?) VIII.-JUNC US DIFFUSUS. Boppe. 



Plate MDLXII. 



Beieh. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. IX. Tab. CCCCXIV. 



Bilht, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 2718. 



J. cfiuso-glaucus, Schnitzl. & Frklcli. Gilrlce, Fl. von Nord und Mittel Deutsch. ed. vi. 



p. 404. 

 J. glaucus, var. /3, diffusus. Sooh. & Am. Brit. Fl. ed. viii. p. 4G1 



Ctpspitose, growing in roundish tufts. Rootstock rather shortly 

 creeping, its branches with the steins placed close together one before 

 the other. Stems numerous, soft, not Aviry nor rigid, rather slender, 

 terete, smooth when fresh, finely striate when dry, green, filled with con- 

 tinuous pith. Sheaths leafless, dark purplish-brown towards the base, 

 shining. Panicle pseudo-lateral, from the lowest bract resembling a 

 continuation of the stem and being much longer than the panicle. 

 Flowers numerous, solitary, arranged in a decompound panicle, with 

 the lower branches twice or thrice branched^ ascending-erect, elongate. 

 Perianth leaves equal, very narrowly lanceolate, acuminate and very 

 acute, yellowish-brown, longer than the capsule. Stamens 6. Cap- 

 sule oblong-turbinate, shortly acuminated into a short mucro, pale 

 chestnut, trigonous. Seeds abortive. 



In damp pastures. Rather rare, but occurring sparingly throughout 

 England. Although this plant was first reputed British on the faith 

 of specimens said to be sent from Kincardineshire, there is no reli- 

 able record of its occurrence in Scotland. In Ireland it is reported 

 from Ball}'ronan, co. Derry. 



England, [Scotland?], Ireland. Perennial. Early Summer. 



Very similar to J. efFusus, but with the stems thinner and with 

 much darker sheaths ; the branches of the panicle much less spread- 

 ing, the stamens (always ?) 6 ; the anthers much longer, and the 

 capsule shortly acuminate, varying from half as long as the perianth 

 leaves to rather more than three-quarters of their length, and consider- 

 ably darker in colour. From J. glaucus, which it resembles in general 

 appearance, it differs in the stems not being glaucous, nor striate, nor 

 wiry and tough, the pith not interrupted, the style shorter, the capsule 

 not narrowed from about the middle but abruptly acuminated, and 

 considerably shorter in proportion to the perianth leaves, and paler 

 in colour. 



