482 T. Holm — Studies in the CyperacecB. 



have named C. Barbaras are members of the grex Mierorhyn- 

 dice, and more or less closely related to Prescott's 0. Sitchen- 

 sis. It seems a strange coincidence that this species of Prescott 

 should suffer the same fate as G. Barbaras, to become so 

 entirely misunderstood for many years, although the diagnosis 

 plainly shows us that it was not intended for the very char- 

 acteristic G. magnified of Dewey. When thus modern cari- 

 cographers consider G. Barbaras to be a close ally of G. 

 aquatilis Wahlenbg., we are now in the position to state that 

 it is not by any means related to this, neither to this particular 

 species, nor to any of the other members of the Microrhynchw. 

 Inasmuch as the real G. Barbaras seems to be a very rare 

 plant (not represented in any of the large herbaria at Kew) it 

 might be appropriate to reprint the original diagnosis, and to 

 give an account of the confusion into which the species has 

 fallen. Dewey's description reads as follows : " Carex Bar- 

 baras Dewey : spicis staminiferis terminalibus 2 raro 3 erectis 

 cylindraceis, suprema longe pedunculata, inferiore breviore illi 

 contigua, infima sub-elongata ; pistilliferis 3 longo-cylindraceis, 

 2-4 uncialibus gracilibus, superiore apice staminifera brevi- 

 bracteata erecta, inferioribus, longioribus, subremotis, subrecur- 

 vis basi laxinoris brevi-vaginatis foliaceo-bracteatis, omnibus 

 nigro-purpureis, perigyniis distigmaticis oblongis obovatis api- 

 culatis ore integris, squama oblongo obovata dorso pallida 

 mucronatabrevioribus; culmo erecto glauco longe-foliato vagin- 

 atoque. Banks of streams, Santa Barbara, California ; Parry. — 

 Culm 16-20 inches high, erect, with long leaves towards the 

 base and long leafy bracts above, glaucous ; spikes 3-6, cylin- 

 dric, slender, blackish purple ; staminate terminal 1-3, com- 

 monly 2, the upper nearly two inches long, pedunculate, the 

 lower sessile, contiguous and shorter, the third longer than the 

 last and more remote ; pistillate 3, long cylindric, 2-4 inches 

 long, slender ; the upper staminate at the apex, short-bracteate, 

 erect ; the lower longer, subremote, subrecurved, loose-flowered 

 at the base and short-sheathed ; perigynium oblong-obovate, 

 short-rostrate, entire at the orifice, stigmas 2, pistillate scale 

 oblong-obovate, on the back pale, and the nerve extended into 

 a mucronate point, making the end of the scale sometimes 

 emarginate. The locality gives the name of the species," 

 Some mature specimens of G. Barbarw Dew. have been col- 

 lected by Mr. Parish in San Bernardino Mountains,* and by 

 examining these we noticed that the perigynia exhibit several 

 very tine nerves, which must have been overlooked by Dewey ; 

 otherwise these specimens showed exactly the same habit and 

 structure of squamae as Dewey's own specimen. It is to be 



* Southern California, alt. 3000 ft., S. B. Parish, No. 3276, deposited in 

 the herbarium of U. S. National Museum. 



