30 
nus albus, Linn. Sp. Pl. p. 65. Mz. Fi. 
v. 1. p. 5. Bigel, Fl. Bost. p. 17. 
Culm slender, twelve to eighteen inches 
high, glabrous. Leaves setaceous, shorter 
than the culm. owers in close, corym- 
bose clusters, terminal and axillary, with 
short setaceous bracts at the base. Spike- 
lets lanceolate. Glumes ovate, acute, 
white, becoming brownish with age. Bris- 
tles ten, retrorsely hispid, nearly one-half 
the length of the nut (equalling the nut 
with the tubercle. Stamens 2 (3, 2, an 
1, Muhl.). Style bifid. Nut lenticular, 
ovate, somewhat attenuate at the base, 
when young, triquetrous, elevated on a 
short stipe, upon which the bristles are in- 
serted. Tubercle compressed, one-half the 
length of the nut. 
Has. In sphagnous swamps, common; 
Canada to Carolina. Flowers from July to 
September. 
Oss. The N. American plant agrees in 
every respect with specimens from the 
North of Europe. 
25. R. capillacea (Torrey); culmo tri- 
gono gracili, spiculis 3—6 plerumque ter- 
minalibus, nuce levi oblongo-ovata stipi- 
tata setis retrorsum hispidis dimidio—tu- 
berculo duplo-longiori. 
R. capillacea, Torrey! FT. v. 1. p. 55. 
Gray, Gram, et Cyp. v. 1. n. 95.—Sche- 
nus setaceus, Muhl.! Gram. p. 6. 
Culm six to twelve inches high, very 
slender, smooth. Leaves setaceous, nearly 
flat, radical ones short. Spikelets oblong, 
mostly terminal, with a setaceous bract at 
the base of each. Glumes chestnut-co- 
loured, with 
[em 
carinate, mucronate. Bristle Ey large, 
retrorsely hispid, about twice the length of 
the nut. Stamens three. Style bifid. 
Nut oblong-ovate, somewhat lenticular, 
attenuate at the base, triquetrous when 
young, raised on a short stipe, which bears 
the bristles. Tubercle compressed, acute, 
about half as long as the nut. 
Has. Swamps, Pennsylvania; Penn- 
Yan, and on limestone rocks, Watertown, 
New York. 
26. R. fusca (Ræm. et Sch.); foliis 
setaceis canaliculato - carinatis, spiculis 
A MONOGRAPH OF THE 
ovato-oblongis, nuce levi obovata subtu-. 
mida basi paula attenuata setis sursum = 
hispidulis duplo breviore, tuberculo com- | 
presso margine serrulato-scabro. E 1 
R. fusca, Rem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. v. II. 
p. 81. Spreng. Syst. Veg. v. I. p. 194. j 
R. alba, var. fusca, Vahl, Enum. v. II. - 
p. 236.—Scheenus fuscus, Linn. Sp. PL — 
p.1664. Wahl. Fl. Suec. v. 1. p. 23. E] 
Culm six to twelve inches high, sende a 
triquetrous. Leaves setaceous, channelled ; 
radical ones elongated; cauline ones very 3 
short. Fascicles one to three, few-flower- — 
ed; the uppermost approximate, on short — 
included peduncles; the lowest remote, . 
exsertly pedunculate. Spikelets ovate, | 
oblong, acute. Glumes mucronate, dark, 
uscous, and shining. Bristles six, very 
slender, hispid upward, about twice the — 
length of the nut; three alternate ones 1 
somewhat shortest, or scarcely exceeding — 
the nut. Stamens three. Nut smooth, | 
but with its surface often slightly irregular, — 
obovate, subattenuate at the base, lenticu- 
lar, somewhat tumid. Tubercle much 7 
compressed, broad at the base, serrulate 
on the margin, attenuate into the style, - 
which is sometimes almost wholly pers 1 
sistent. 3 
Has. Pine Barrens of New Jersey; | 
Boston. 
Oss. Our plant agrees in every respect 
with a Swedish specimen of R. fusca, ex- 
cept that in the foreign plant the nut is 
somewhat uneven, and a little more tumid 
than in ours. I am, however, satisfied of | 
their identity. This species is quite dis- - 
tinct from R. alba, of which some Euro- | 
pean Botanists have considered it a var. 
It is much more nearly related to R. capil- 
lacea, from which it is well distinguished - 
by the form of the nut, the upward direc- - 
tion of the hispidness of the bristles, and | 
the serrulate tubercle. In this species the - 
glumes are dark-fuscous; in R. capillacea 
they are light-fuscous, or chestnut-colour- | 
ed. .R. fusca has carinate and channelled 
leaves; in R. capillacea they are nearly | 
usca is said by Sprengel, Roem. 
and Sch, to have but three bristles ; there - 
are six, in all the specimens, both 
