CYrERACE^E. 149 



SPECIES Lm.— CAR EX DISTANS. Linn. 



Plate MDCLXVin. 



Eekh. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. VIII. Tab. CCLIU. 

 Billot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 1777. 



Rootstock ca3spitose, with very short branches, each of which pro- 

 duces several flowering stems and barren shoots at the apex. Stem 

 erect, rather slender, rather stiff, triangular, smooth throughout, 

 leafy only near the base. Leaves shorter than the stem,' rather 

 firm, linear, flat, rough on the margins towards the apex or through- 

 out, pale green, scarcely glaucous. Male spike 1, longly (more 

 rarely shortly) stalked, linear-cylindrical, scarcely clavate, ■with ob- 

 long-obtuse reddish-brown glumes with narrow pale scarious margins. 

 Female spikes 2 to 4, remote or distant, the lowest one below or near 

 the middle of the stem on a long included or slightly exserted stalk, 

 the upper ones on short included or scarcely exserted stalks, erect, 

 oblong or oblong-cyhudrical or ovoid, very dense, many-flowered. 

 Bracts sheathing, foHaceous, the lamina of the lowest one much longer 

 than its own spike, but rarely reaching to and veiy rarely exceeding 

 the apex of the male spike. Glumes of the female flowers roundish- 

 ovate, obtuse and apiculate, or shortly mucronate, pale reddish-brown 

 with a broad green stripe on the back and veiy narrow pale scarious 

 margins, much shorter than but nearly as broad as the fruit. Fruit 

 erect, not stipitate, oval-ovate, very slightly narrowed towards the 

 base and apex, plano-convex-trigonous, considerably inflated, with 

 several rather strong ribs, the 2 marginal ones not much stronger 

 than the others, slightly shining, green, ultimately olive or olive-brown, 

 concolorous, pellucidly punctate, abruptly narrowed into a rather long 

 straight plano-convex rough-edged rather shortly 2-toothed beak, not 

 half as long as the rest of the fruit ; teeth of beak diverging, rough 

 within. Stigmas 3. Nut stipitate, pale yellow, oval-obovate, trique- 

 trous, obtuse, with a short apiculus at the apex, loosely covered by 

 the perigynium. 



In salt marshes and damp pastures by the sea and tidal rivers. 

 Common, and generally distributed aU round the coast. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Summer. 



Stems 6 to 30 inches high. Leaves ^ to ^ inch broad. Male spike 

 ^ to Ij inch long. Female spikes :[ to 1 inch long. Fruit ^ inch 

 long. 



C distans is often confounded with C. binervis, but it grows in 

 denser tufts, usually with more numerous stcm.s in each tuft; the 



