398 cviv 



2. E. OBTUSA, Schultes. Obtuse Spike-rush. 



Culms nearly t r '.. many-flowered; scales v«ry 



numerous (80 to 130). dens-dy crowded in many i --Irft 



achenium obovate, sliii ring, tumid-margined, about half the length of the bristles, 



crowned with abroai tubercle. 



Mu'i- <. ■ ry ffiimain. July. Culms 8 to 16 inches! thick 



and obtuse. Scale* with a green inidrib. 



3. E. talustris, R. Brown. Common Spike-rush. 



Culms nearly terete, I ; from run- I long- 



lanceolate, pointed, many-flowr- ■ '.vate-oblonz, loosely imbricated ii 



several ranks, achenhiM obovate, somewhat shining, crowned with a flattened 

 tubare] ■. •'. .• i rtl m - ties. 



Harsbes and low i mmon. June — Aug. Culm 1 to 2 feet high, stout 



and tall when growing in the w i rand lower wl en i-i grassy grounds. 



A very \ Scolti reddish-brown, with a 



"bread an I translucent whitish margin and green k 



4. E. intermedia, Schultes. Intermediate Spike-nuk. 



\. densely tufted from fibrous roots, diffuse- 

 ly spreading or reclining: ttptite. oblong ovate, acutish, I 



along, obto e, green-ke< «-:cA..th, 



•boroi ; . Ifing the 6 brl 



Wet elopes, common, July. Culms very numerous, 6 to 12 inches high. AcJten- 

 turn light brown. 



5. E. TENUIS, Schultes. Slender Spike-rush. 



Calms aim I -. the sides c ike ellip- 



tic?.!, acntisb, 20 to ; scales ovate, obtuse, chestnut-purple with a broad 



6csrious mr.rgin and green keel; dehemium obovate, roughened] bruQet '2 to 3, 

 half the length of tj a, or wanting. 



Wet meadows and I oes, common. July. Culm S to 12 inches high, very slender, 

 with 1 or 2 purple sheaths at base. Efcnke }± inch 



G. E. acicularts. R. Brown. Capillary Spiki-rush. 



Cidvis finely capillary. 4-argular; spike 3 to E lies ovate-oblong, 



rather obtuse, greenish witb purple sides ; achenium obovate-oblong, rather acute 

 at each end, tumid, with Cribbed angles, longer than the 3 or -± very fugaceous 

 bristles. 



Ifnddy places, and margins of brooks, common. June — Aug. Culm- 2 to S inchoi 

 long, c .1 r. 



5- SCIEPUS, Linn. Bulrush. Club-rush. 



The ancient Latin name^of the Bulrush. 



Spikes many or several-flowered, terete, mostly clustered, 

 often appearing lateral from the extension of the involucral 

 leaf like a continuation of the culm. Scales regularly 

 imbricate on all sides in several ranks. Perianth of 3 to 

 6 bristles. Stamens 3. Style 2 or 3-cleft, simple at base, 

 deciduous. Achenium lenticular or triangular. — Chiefly 

 perennials, with the culms .sheathed at the base, sheaths usually leaf' 

 bearing, and solitary conglomerated or corymbose spilces. 



