SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 67 



readily separating from the lower straight part ; scales dark 

 reddish brown, strongly folded, 5-8 mm. long, deciduous, the 

 lower infertile scales ^S, smooth and acute, the fertile 4-6, of- 

 ten scabrid on the keel and mucronulate, the uppermost often 

 staminate, or empty ; perianth scales 2-5, accuminate, or aristate, 

 ciliate toothed, 0.5mm. long, persistent; anthers tipped with 

 a conical cellular appendage ; style dark, about 1 cm. long ; 

 achenes white, smooth and shining, ovoid, obtusely 3-angied, 

 1.5 mm. long. 



Arrowhead Hot Springs, near San Bernardino, and Lone 

 Pine Canyon, near Cajon Pass; Parish. Furnace Creek Canyon, 

 Death Valley; Coville and Funston. The species is known in 

 America, in addition to the above stations, only from Ash Mea- 

 dows, Nevada, and from Florida. All the western plants grow 

 in alkaline soil. Plate V. 

 ^ J ELEOCHARIS, R. Br. Prodr Fl. Nov. Holl. 1:224. 



Annual or perennial herbs with tufted, angular, flattened, 

 or terete culms. Leaves reduced to basal sheaths, the lowest 

 rarely bearing a short blade. Flowers in solitary, erect, non- 

 involucrate spikelets. Scales concave, scarious-margined, 

 spirally imbricated around the rachis. Perianth of 1-12 re- 

 trorsely barbed bristles, or rarely none. Style 2-cleft and the 

 achene lenticular, or 3-cleft and the achene 3-angled or turgid, 

 its conical or flattened tubercular base persistent on the sum- 

 mit of the achene. 



- A genus of about 100 species, growing in, wet places, from 

 the tropics north to the Arctic regions. 



Key to the Species. 



Style 2-cleft ; achene lenticular. 



Annual; achene black, tubercle flat. 1. E. capitata. 



Perennial ; tubercle conical. 2. E. palustris. 



Style 3-cleft, achene 3-angled or turgid. 



Achene cancellate ; tubercle conical. 3, E. acicularis. 



Achene puncticulate ; tubercle disc -like 4 E. disciformis. 



Achene smooth and shining. 



Tubercle not continuous with the achene. 



Tubercle broader at base than the apex of the achene ; 



spikelet oblong. 5. E. montana. 



Tubercle calyptrate : spikelet lanceolate 6 E. Parishii. 



Tubercle continuous with achene : conical. 7 E. rostellata. 



* Styles 2-cleft and achenes lenticular; tubercle constricted at base. 



v^ 1. Eleocharis capitata, R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Holl. 1:225. 



Annual, culms slender or filiform, terete, erect, 1-1.5 dm. 

 tall; upper sheath 1-toothed; spikelets ovoid, obtuse 4-5 mm. 



