T. Holm — Studies in the Cyperacew. 307 



sessile, with the surface granular to densely verrucose, with 

 or without a few spinulose projections along the upper mar- 

 gins, with the orifice of the short beak wholly glabrous or 

 minutely spinulose, and finally with many very prominent 

 nerves, with only a few and quite faint or apparently with 

 none at all, the two marginal nerves being usually obsolete. 

 Accompanying these perigynial structures a pronounced varia- 

 tion in habit occurs : in respect to the rhizome, the relative posi- 

 tion of the pistillate spikes, the length of the peduncles, the 

 length of the spikes, of the bracts, etc., distinctions that have 

 proved to be sufficiently valid for establishing a number of 

 varieties, especially in Northern Europe. Among these are, 

 for instance, "tomata Fr.," which is densely csespitose, with 

 thick, rigid culms, broad leaves and heavy spikes, "juncea 

 Fr.," a very slender form with convolute, filiform leaves and 

 remote spikes, "stolonifera (Hoppe)" with long stolons and 

 short, curved culms, "longe pedunculated Blytt" with the culms, 

 tall, nodding at the apex and with long-peduncled, dark spikes 

 of which the scales are acute and longer than the perigynia, 

 "rigida Blytt" which grows in dense tufts and of which the 

 culms and leaves are very stiff and scabrous, besides the pistil- 

 late spikes are very long, linear and often androgynous, " atra 

 Blytt" with slender culms, and black, sessile spikes, mostly in 

 a dense head, and "anomala Blytt" with the terminal spike 

 gynaecandrous. By studying the species as it is represented in 

 this country, we have seen the typical C. vulgaris from Alaska, 

 Colorado, Cape Breton Island and Nantucket, Massachusetts, 

 while the var. stolonifera has been collected in Labrador. It 

 appears, however, as if the species is best represented in the 

 northwestern parts of this continent — Alaska and Yukon, 

 where certain varieties have been collected in large quantities 

 and at several stations. Of these we propose as new 



var. limnophila nob. 



Rhizome densely csespitose ; culms curved, only about 10 cm in 

 length ; spikes very short and thick, sessile and contiguous, 

 almost capitate, the terminal mostly gy nsecandrous; perigynium 

 stipitate, elliptical, denticulate near the beak, purplish spotted 

 above. 



Collected on St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, growing in mud 

 by marshes. Mr. James M. Macoun (No. 16,613) ; also on a 

 nunatak in Columbia glacier, Prince William's Sound, by 

 Messrs. Coville and Kearney (No. 1365). 



This variety bears a strong resemblance to C. rufina Drej., 

 from which it differs only in its more robust habit and the 



