422 T. Holm — Studies in the CyperacecB. 



But whatever C. nigella may be, a distinct species, a variety 

 or identical with G. Tolmiei^ the latter itself cannot in accord- 

 ance with Boott's diagnosis be confounded with any of the 

 other species of this section, the MelanantJicB Drej., among 

 which we prefer to place it rather than among the Micro- 

 rhynchcB Drej. Some authors, among which Boott himself, 

 did think that the affinity should be looked for among the 

 Micro7'hynchcBJ)YQ].^ and he compared it with C.rigida Good., 

 but was, nevertheless, well aware of the fact, that even if O. 

 Tolmiei " has much the aspect and in some respects the habit 

 of C. rigida^ it differs from this in the number of spikes, the 

 three stigmas, triquetrous achenium, etc." Following the sug- 

 gestion of Boott, Professor Bailey places the species among 

 the Mic7'orhynch(B^ in which he includes both Drejer's JEord- 

 stachycB and 2LelananthcB ; thus the section becomes very unlike 

 that proposed by Drejer, and must be credited to Professor 

 Bailey alone ; the plant becomes, thus, associated with such 

 species as C. vulgaris^ stricta^ acuta, glauxa, salina^ etc., a 

 classification too unnatural to be acceptable. But then it is 

 not so strange to understand how a number of very remote 

 and very distinct species of no immediate affinity have been 

 plunged together into one : " C. Toliniei^^ the characters of 

 which have gradually vanished in the systematic treatises of 

 the genus in this country. And some of the plants which in 

 this way have been united with C. Tolmiei are the species 

 which we intend to describe in the following pages as inde- 

 pendent species, and not by any means closely related to the 

 original C, Tolmiei of Boott. These segregates of C. Tolmiei 

 are : 



Car ex scopulorum Holm (figs. 1-6). 



( (7. Tolmiei Bail, non Boott var. subsessilis Bail, ex parte.) 



Boots thick, very hairy : rhizome stoloniferous, densely cov- 

 ered with persisting (not fibrillose) scale-like leaves; culm from 

 10 to 40^^°" in height, erect, rather coarse, triangular, more or 

 less scabrous, the base surrounded by green leaves (phyllo- 

 podic) ; leaves shorter than the culm, relatively broad and fiat, 

 scabrous along the margins, otherwise glabrous ; spikes very 

 variable in number, from two to seven, the upper ones mostly 

 contiguous : the terminal mostly purely staminate, sessile or 

 short-peduncled, clavate, or sometimes androgynous or, though 

 seldom, gynsecandrous,^ the scales (fig. 4) oblong-lanceolate, 



* As to the distribution of sexes and number of spikes I find in 65 speci- 

 mens of Carex scopulorum from various localities in Wyoming, Montana, 

 and Colorado : 



42 specimens with the terminal spike purely staminate. 

 17 '' " *' " androgynous (staminate above). 



6 '' " '' '' gynaecandrous (pistillate above). 



