12 T. Holm — Studies in the Cyjperacece. 



Although the first four of these species are not to be sepa- 

 rated by the anatomical characters, which we have pointed out, 

 they are nevertheless readily distinguished by their morpho- 

 logical ; the other species seem on the other hand to be 

 equally well distinguishable by anatomical and morphological 

 divergences. 



In considering the character of soil and climatological con- 

 ditions of the localities from where our material has been 

 brought together, one might feel inclined to designate these 

 plants as belonging to xero- or hydro-philous societies. Their 

 structural peculiarities, however, do not point towards any dis- 

 tinction of that kind. Scleria pauciflora, for instance, from 

 wet ground in the vicinity of Washington, D. C, does not 

 differ in any very marked degree from S. triglomerata, which 

 we collected in dry sandy soil in subtropical Florida ; further- 

 more S. ciliata, an inhabitant of the High Pine- woods of 

 Florida, shows no strictly xerophytic characters when compared 

 with S. reticularis, a bog plant. While certain species, as S. 

 reticularis, S. filiformis and S. Torreyana, collected in a 

 rather wet ground, possess a stem with a more or less broken 

 pith, other species from similarly damp localities have perfectly 

 solid stems. It seems as if the North American species of 

 Scleria are very little susceptible to variation due to changes 

 in environment and that they are not to be placed into any 

 special society, either among the "xero- or hydro-phytes." 



Brookland, D. C, August, 1898. 



