70 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



A very handsome plant, with somewhat the habit of Luzula 

 sylvatica, but the foliage is paler, and the panicle considerably 

 larger. 



Wood Club Rush. 



French, Scirpe des hois. German, Wald Simse. 



GENUS F7/.— ERIOPHORUM. Linn. 



Flowers perfect, arranged in several or many-flowered spikes, 

 which are sometimes solitary, at other times several and disposed in 

 an umbellate panicle, but never distichous. Glumes of each spike 

 imbricated all round the axis, all with flowers in their axils, except 

 2 or 3 of the lowest, which are larger than the others and empty. 

 Hypogynous bristles very numerous (rarely only 6), included while in 

 flower, but becoming greatly exserted and white or pale reddish - 

 bro^vn in fruit. Stamens 1 to 3. Style deciduous, not enlarged at 

 the base; stigmas 3 (rarely 2). Nut triquetrous, or lenticular in the 

 few cases in which there are but 2 stigmas. 



Herbs diff'ering from those of the genus Scirpus only in the greatly 

 exserted wool-like hypog}Tious bristles of the fruit. 



The derivation of the name of this genus is from ipwv, wool, and (pipu), I bear 



Section I.— TRICHOPHORUM. Pers. 



Spike solitary, terminal, erect, without leafy bracts at the base. Hy- 

 pogynous bristles 4 to 6, crisped and flexuous when elongated after 

 flowering. 



SPECIES I.-ERIOPHORUM ALPINUM. Linn. 



Plate MDCIII. 



Reich. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. VIII. Tab. CCLXXVIH. 

 Billot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 1198. 



Scarcely ctespitose. Rootstock creeping, producing numerous stems 

 closely placed one before the other. Stems slender, triangular, 

 slio^htly rough on the angles, leafless; basal sheaths several, striate; 

 the lower ones pointed and leafless, the uppermost one terminating in 

 a short rough setaceous channelled and keeled lamina. Spike solitary, 

 terminal, erect, few-flowered, without leafy bracts at the base, oblong- 

 oblanceolate * in fruit. Glumes lanceolate, obtuse, orange-brown. 



* In describing the shape of the spike the bristles are taken into account in this 

 and the other species of Eriophorura. 



