CYPERACE.E. 161 



usually reaching to or exceeding the apex of the male spike ; upper 

 bracts not sheathing, and with the lamina shorter than the male spike. 

 Glumes of the female flowers lanceolate, acute, usually cuspidate or 

 shortly aristate, ciliated on the margins and midi'ib, chocolate-brown, 

 mth green or pale midribs and slightly paler margins, shorter and 

 narrower than the fruit. Fruit ascending-erect, substipitate, ovate- 

 elliptical, bluntly-trigonous, slightly inflated, with several strong equal 

 ribs, densely hispid-pubescent, pale olive-brown, rather gradually 

 narrowed into a very short thick hispid straight 2 -toothed beak, 

 scarcely one-fourth the length of the rest of the fruit; teeth rather 

 long, subulate, greatly-diverging, as long as the rest of the beak. 

 Stigmas 3. Nut pale yellow, oval, triquetro-trigonous, obtuse, rather 

 closely covered by the perigynium. 



In ditches in peat bogs, especially by the sides of ponds and lakes 

 Rare, but wddely distributed, extending from Somerset (or perhaps 

 Devon) and Hants to Sutherland. Rare, but widely distributed in 

 Ireland. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Summer. 



Rootstock with rather thick creeping branches, producing several 

 flowering stems and barren shoots, ore before the other, or in a small 

 tuft at the apex. Stems 18 to 30 inches high. Leaves very slender, 

 with the edges strongly involute, and without a keel on the back, 

 which is very seldom the case in the geiuis Carex. Terminal male 

 spike li to 2 inches long ; the second male spike much shorter, and 

 sometimes absent; lowest female spike :^- to 1^ inch loig, sometimes 

 with a few male flowers at the apex. Fruit ^ inch long, with strong 

 ribs, which, however, are nearly concealed by the dense coating of 

 stiff grey pubescence. 



A veiy distinct species which cannot well be confounded with any 

 other of the British Carices. 



Slender-leaved Sedge. 



French, Carex filifomie. German, Fadenfdrmige Segge. 



SPECIEi5 LIX.— CAREX HIRTA. Lmn. 



Plate MDCLXXVII. 



Reich. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. VHI. Tab. CCLVII. Fig. 628. 

 Billot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Essicc. No. 2574. 



Rootstock extensively creeping, with chordorrhizal branches and 

 elongate stolons. Stem erect, rather stout, not wiry, weak, tri- 

 quetrous, smooth (except between the spikes), leafy thi'oughout. 

 Leaves shorter than the stem, or rarely equalling it, flaccid, broadly 

 lineal", flat, usually pubescent, rough on the margins, bright green 



VOL. X. Y 



