Genus 14. SEDGE FAMILY. 347 



1. Psilocarya nitens (Vahl) Wood. Short-beaked Bald-rush. Fig. 855. 



Scirpus nitens Vahl, Enum. 2 : 272. 1806. 



P. rhynchosporoides Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3 : 361. 

 1836. 



Rhynchospora nitens A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 568. 1867. 



Psilocarya nitens Wood, Bot. & Fl. 364. 1870. 



Glabrous, culms tufted, slightly angled, 3'-2° 

 tall. Leaves narrowly linear, about 1" wide, 

 smooth, sometimes overtopping the culm, sheath- 

 ing at the base, the midvein prominent; umbels 

 mostly loose; spikelets ovoid, 2"-3" long, rather 

 less than 1" in diameter; scales brown, broadly 

 ovate, thin, i-nerved, obtuse, acute or apiculate; 

 achene lenticular, nearly orbicular, light brown, 

 strongly wrinkled transversely; tubercle shorter 

 than the achene, subacute, 2-lobed at the base. 



In wet soil, Long Island, N. Y., Cape May, N. J., 

 and Delaware to Florida and Texas, near the coast, 

 and in Indiana. July-Oct. ' 



2. Psilocarya scirpoides Torr. Long-beaked 

 Bald-rush. Fig. 856. 



P. scirpoides Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3 : 360. 1836. 



Rhynchospora scirpoides A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 568. 

 1867. 



Similar to the preceding species but smaller, 

 usually less than i° high. Umbels commonly more 

 numerous ; spikelets oblong or ovoid-oblong; achene 

 nearly orbicular in outline, biconvex, not as flat 

 as that of P. nitens, dark brown, faintly trans- 

 versely wrinkled or smooth, sometimes longitu- 

 dinally striate, slightly contracted at the base into 

 a short stipe ; tubercle subulate, as long as or some- 

 times longer than the achene, its base decurrent on 

 the edges. 



In wet soil, eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island 

 and northern Indiana. Perhaps a race of the preced- 

 ing species. July-Sept. 



15. MARISCUS (Hall.) Zinn, Cat. Hort. Goett. 79. 1757. 



[Cladium P. Br. Civ. & Nat. Hist. Jam. 114. Hyponym. 1756.] 



Perennial leafy sedges, similar to the Rynchosporas, the spikelets oblong or fusiform, 

 few-flowered, variously clustered. Scales imbricated all around, the lower empty, the middle 

 ones mostly subtending imperfect flowers, the upper usually fertile. Perianth none. Stamens 

 2 or sometimes 3. Style 2-3-cleft, deciduous from the summit of the achene, its branches 

 sometimes 2-3-parted. Achene ovoid or globose, smooth or longitudinally striate. Tubercle 

 none. [Greek, referring to the branched inflorescence of some species.] 



About 40 species, natives of tropical and temperate regions. Type species : Schoenus Mariscus L. 



Leaves smooth, about i" wide. i. M. mariscoides. 



Leaves serrulate, 3"-io" wide. 2. M. jamaicensis. 



