THE SEDGES 201 



tials of the flowers, each ovary, containing one ovule, 

 is surmounted by two feathery stigmas, and the stamens, 

 with rare exceptions three in number, consist of long 

 filaments bearing two-celled, pendulous anthers, which 

 hang outside the flower so that their dustlike and 

 abundant pollen may be readily dispersed by wind. 

 The feathery stigmas afford an extended surface for the 

 reception of pollen. 



The Cyperacete, or Sedges, have leaves resembling 

 those of Grasses, but differing from them by the general 

 absence of a ligule and by the fact that their sheathing 

 bases are closed. In the Grasses the sheath is open; it 

 grips the stem, but it can be unfolded and removed 

 without being torn. But there can be no unfolding of 

 the sheath of a Sedge, for its edges are soldered and the 

 sheath is a tube; therefore, if we tear a leaf away from 

 its stem, the tube is ruptured. The stem of Sedges is 

 usually triangular in transverse section; it is seldom 

 hollow as in Grasses, nor does it generally have swollen 

 joints. The flowers are either unisexual or herma- 

 phrodite (p. 192); they occur in the axils of small 

 glumes, and are arranged in spikelets. As an adapta- 

 tion to wind-pollination, the anthers and stigmas pro- 

 ject from the spikelets. Sedges are numerous, between 

 two and three thousand species being known. They are 

 represented in all climes; about one hundred species are 

 found in Britain. The papyrus of ancient Egypt was 

 prepared from the pith of the flowering stems of the 

 Sedge Papyrus antiquorum. This species grows in the 

 region of the Upper Nile, also in Palestine and Syria; 

 it attains a height of about 10 feet, and its stems are 

 found up to 4 inches in diameter. 



26 



