38 T. Holm — Studies in the Cyperacece. 



common case of a prolonged, flower-bearing rliacheola. In 

 this specimen, the little branch B constitutes the rliacheola 

 bearing four female, one-flowered spikelets and one terminal, 

 male spike, while the utricle at the base has acquired a corre- 

 sponding development as the clado-prophyllon P in C. clado- 

 stachya : thus the ramifled rliacheola demonstrates exactly the 

 same structure as the branches B, C and D in C. cladostachya. 

 Considered from this point of view the section PhyUostachys 

 Torr. is morphologically inseparable from any of the other 

 sections of Eucarex, of Vignea or Vigneastra. Utriculus 

 shows in these sections or subgenera, as they have been con- 

 sidered by some authors, the same plasticity of developing 

 either as a membranaceous clado-prophyllon at the base of 

 peduncles or as a normal utriculus, surrounding the female 

 flower. The extension of the rhacheola may sometimes result 

 in the suppression of the female flower, but not always. Both 

 Duval-Jouve, Gay, Roeper and Schulz enumerate not a few 

 cases where the female flower had developed normally; besides 

 that the rhacheola protruded through the orifice of the same 

 utriculus, bearing one or two female flowers with bracts, 

 utricles and pistils. The clado-prophyllon at the base of the 

 lateral peduncles has, also, been observed to contain a pistil, 

 perfect or rudimentary. But a case like that which we have 

 observed in C. BacMi differs from most others by the develop- 

 ment of a complete male spike besides the female ones at the 

 base ; it is evidently an exceptional occurrence, and it illus- 

 trates exactly one of the minor inflorescences in the genus 

 Schcenoxiphium. As a matter of fact, this genus, as well as 

 Uncinia and Kobresia, show a very striking resemblance to 

 Carex, when considered from a morphological viewpoint. 



As regards the development of the lower bracts in PhyUo- 

 stachys into green leaves instead of membranaceous scales, this 

 character does not seem to be of much importance as far as con- 

 cerns the systematic position of the species. Similar green 

 bracts are, also, known from the other sections, for instance in 

 specimens of Carex scirpoidea Michx. of the Sphceridiophorce, 

 where a single or sometimes even several female spikelets may 

 be seen subtended by leaf-like bracts, a case which we noticed 

 in the mountains of Greenland. Moreover in Carex Hilairei 

 Boott, the lower bracts of the androgynous spike are devel- 

 oped into long leaves, as figured by Boott (Plate 468) ; this 

 species may probably be referred to the Dactylostachym. 

 Furthermore C. phyllostachys Mey., C. multicaulis Bail, and 

 C. mdipostyla Duv.-Jouve show similar leafy bracts, and have, 

 therefore, been regarded as members of Phyllostachys, although 

 they do not seem to possess the most important character of 

 this section and are, perhaps, better placed in a section parallel 



