rvPKUACE.T;. 171 



rough on the margins throughout, faintly ribbed above, bright 

 green both above and beneath. Male spikes 1 to 4, usually 2, the 

 upper one longly stalked, more rarely shortly stalked, linear-cylindrical, 

 very acute, with oblong-lanceolate subobtuse pale reddish-brown or 

 iawn-coloured glumes with rather broad scarious margins or at least 

 apices. Female spikes 1 to 3, usually 2, rather remote, the lowest one 

 shortly stalked, the upper one sessile or subsessile, erect, ultimately 

 usually inclined or slightly drooping, thickly cylindrical, scarcely 

 tapering towards the apex, obtuse or abruptly acute, dense, many- 

 tlowered. Bracts not sheathing, foliaceous, the lowest one with a long 

 foliaceous lamina exceeding the male spike. Glumes of the female 

 flowers narrowly lanceolate, acute, purplish-brown, with green midribs 

 and narrow pale scarious margins, much shorter and much narrower 

 than the fruit. Fruit ultimately ascending-erect, stipitate, ovate, 

 gradually acuminate, conico-ovoid, scarcely trigonous, gi-eatly inflated 

 and bladderlike, strongly ribbed, with the marginal ribs scarcely 

 stronger than the others, glabrous, shining, olive-green, ultimately 

 yellow or yellowish-brown, gradually narrowed into a rather short 

 straight smooth 2-toothed beak, about one-third the length of the rest 

 of the fruit. Stigmas 3. Nut pale yellow ("brown," Gren. & Godr.), 

 oval-oblanceolate, triquetrous, very loosely covered by the perigynium. 

 In marshes, and by the borders of ponds and lakes. Rather rare. 

 Generally distributed in England. Rare in Scotland, extendino- 

 north to Isla and Moray. Rather local, but widely distributed in 

 Ireland. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Early Summer. 



Rootstock less extensively creeping than that of C. ampuUacea, and 

 its branches usually with several stems one before the other, so as to 

 be chordorrhizal. Leaves |^ to ^ inch broad, with the tips of the sheatlis 

 extending one above the other, so that some of the laniinas are a little 

 higher than the others. Terminal male spike 1 to 2 inches lou". 

 Lowest female spike 1 to 1-^ inch long. Fruit \ inch lono- or even 

 rather more. 



A very distinct species, resembling none but the dubious C. invo- 

 luta, which Professor Babington considers merely a variety of it. The 

 differences between the two have been already mentioned under C. 

 involuta. 



Bladder Sedge. 



French, Carex en vessie. German, Blasemegge. 



Z 2 



