1898-1902. No. 2.] VASCULAR PLANTS OF ELLESMERELAND. 137 



did not quite agree with either of them. Later I found that the plant 

 was described by Hooker on specimens from Duke of York Bay 

 (Southampton Island) from Parry's second voyage (I have also seen 

 original specimens in the London and Copenhagen collections). But the 

 name of Hooker cannot be used, as there existed already another C. 

 membranacea, described by Hoppe, 1832. The oldest name of the 

 plant C. compada, was also previously used by Krocker, 1814, and 

 moreover R. Brown, 1. c, has instead of description, only the remark 

 "G. pullae affinis". Bailey, 1. c, therefore is quite right in giving a 

 new name to the plant, which must doubtless be given the rank of a 

 separate species. Ostenfeld, 1. c, has referred G. membranopacta to 

 C. rotundata, to which it doubtless comes nearest and for which it 

 seems to be the substitute all over the american area (according to Britton 

 & Brown, 1. c, I, p. 296, it also goes over to Asia, down to Kamshatka). 

 In Greenland, the european C. pulla and C. rotundata are found, but 

 not C. membranopacta which may, however, be looked for on the 

 north-western coast. C. pulla is also found in America, where 

 Richardson among others, has collected it. 



The diagnosis of Hooker runs thus: "G. membranacea, spica 

 mascuia subsolitaria, femineis magis minusve pedicellatis, oblongo- 

 cylindraceis erectis obtusis (atrofuscis, nitidis); fructu laevi rotundato, 

 inflato, breviter acuminato bifido, pedicellato; vaginis perbrevibus". 



The following description also agrees in detail with my plant, it 

 is too long to quote here, but I will give a shorter description as 

 follows : 



Rhizome with long shoots, creeping under ground and clothed with 

 dark brown, glossy sheaths. Culms 10—30 cm. high, rounded triquetrous, 

 upwards with sharper, scabrous edges; leafy in the lower thii'd or half. 



Leaves of the length of the culm or generally shorter; 3—5 mm. 

 broad, flat, or becoming somewhat involute in drying; scabrous at the 

 margin. Leafy shoots rather numerous, and, the same as the culms, 

 covered with glossy brown or reddish sheaths at the base. The lowest 

 bract quite herbaceous (as sometimes also the next) reaching the height 

 of the culm, but very rarely the top of the uppermost spike. The upper 

 bracts generally developed only as brown sheaths. 



Pistillate spikes generally two or three, the lowest one rather often 

 with a short, stiff peduncle; about 2 cm. long or shorter, thickly cy- 

 lindraceous, or nearly ovate when they are short. Staminate spike ge- 

 nerally single, club-like; sometimes there may be another smaller one 



