40 CYPERACEAE 



Family 13. CYPERACEAE. Sedge Family. 



Flowers all perfect, or at least oue in each spikelet perfect. 

 Glumes of the spikelets 2-raiiked. 



Perianth represented by bristles ; inflorescence axillary . 1. Dulichium. 



Perizmth wanting; spikelets in terminal, solitary or umbellate heads. 



2. Cypebus. 

 Glumes of the spikelets spirally imbricate. 



Base of the style persistent as a tubercle on the achene. 



Basal empty glumes several. 3. RTNCHOSPon.t, 



Basal empty glumes wanting, or 1 or 2. 



Spikelets solitary ; stem leafless; bristles usually present. 4. Eleocharis. 

 Spikelets several or numerous; stem leafy; bristles none. 5. Stenophtllcs. 

 Base of the style not persistent as a tubercle. 



Base of the style swollen ; bristles none. 6. Fimeeisttlis. 



Base of the style not swollen ; bristles usually present. 

 Flowers without any inner scales. 



Bristles much elongating in fruit, silky. 



Bristles 6, but each 4-6-cleft to near the base, therefore appearing 



numerous. 7. Briophohum. 



Bristles 6, simple, crisp. 8. Leucocom.v. 



Bristles short, or little elongating, rarely wanting. 9. ScniPtJS. 

 Flowers with a small inner scale between the flower and the rachis. 



10. Hemicarpha. 

 Flowers monoecious or dioecioiis. 



Achenes not enclosed in a perigynium. 



Spikes several, clustered ; gliunes subtending a single flower. 11. Kobre.sia. 

 Spikes solitary ; glumes subtending 2 flowers. 12. Eltna. 



Achenes enclosed in a perigyniiun. 13. Carex. 



1. DULICHIUM L. C. Rich. l. D. arundinaceum. 



2. CYPERUS L. Galingale, Nut-grass. 



Glumes falling away from the persistent rachis of the flat spikelets. 



Style 2-cleft; achenes lenticular. 1. C. diandrus. 



Style 3-cleft; achenes 3-angled. 



Wings of the rachis none or very narrow. 

 Annuals; stamen 1. 



Glumes awned or muer'onate. 2. C. infiexus. 



Glumes acute, neither awned nor mucronate. 3. C. acuminatus. 



Perennials; stamens 2 or 3. 



Glumes tipped with a curved or bent awn; perermlals with a rootstock. 



4. C. Fendlerianus, 

 Glumes blunt or mucronate; perermlals with a corm-like base. 



Heads oblong; spikelets ascending; stem rough. 5. C. Schweinitzii. 

 Heads short; spikelets more or less spreading; stem smooth. 



Glumesbroadly ovate; achenes 1.5— 2mm. long. 6. C. Houghtoni^ 

 Glumes oblong-ovate: achenes 2-2.5 mm. long. 7. C. Bushii. 

 Wings of the rachis prominent and separating from it as interior scales. 



8. C. erythrorhiros. 

 Spike ets wholly falling away, usually leaving the two lower glumes persistent. 



9. C. strigosus. 



3. RYNCHOSPORA Vahl. Beaked Rush. l. R. alba. 



4. ELEOCHARIS R. Br. Spike-rush, Wire-grass. 

 Style-branches 2 ; achenes lenticular or biconvex. 



Sheath hyaline, and scarious at the suirunit. 1. E. thermalis. 



Sheath firm, not scarious at the summit. 

 Aimuals, with fibrous roots. 



Achenes black, shining. 2. E. atropurpurea. 



Achenes pale brown, dull. 



Spikelets narrowly oblong or .subcylindric; glumes blunt, closely appressed. 



3. E. Engelmanni. 

 Spikelets lance-ovoid or lance-oblong; glumes acutish, more spreading. 



4. E. monlicola. 

 Perennials, with rootstocks. 5. E. palusiris. 



Style-branches 3 ; achenes trigonous or turgid ; perermlals, with rootstocks. 



Achenes cancellate and longitudinally ribbed ; spikelets flat. 6. E. acicularis. 



Achenes smooth, papillose or reticulate. 



Tubercle of the achenes short-conic to depressed, plainly distinguishable from 

 the achene. 

 Achenes papUlose. 



Stem flUform; glumes obtuse. 7. E. tenuis. 



Stem flat ; glumes acute. 8. E. acuminata. 



Achenes finely reticulated. 9. E. arcnicola. 



Tubercle of the achenes long-conic, scarcely distinguishable from the body of the 



achene. 10. E. rostellata. 



6. STENOPHYLLUS Raf. 1. s. capiUaris. 



