Scirpus. ] LXXXVIII. CYPERACE. 483 
Hurope and central and Russian Asia, and North America. Not uncom- 
mon in Britain. Fl. summer and autumn. 
2. S.parvulus, Roem and Sch. (fig. 1093). Small S.—A small tufted 
plant emitting creeping rootstocks, very closely allied to S. acicularis, 
but the thread-like stems usually rather stouter and the spikelet rather 
larger and pale-coloured. Flowers, hypogynous bristles, style and nut 
the same as in S. acicularis, of which this may be a maritime variety. 
Eleocharis parvula, Hook. 
In wet, sandy places, chiefly in salt marshes in western Europe. 
Coasts of Devon, Dorset and Hants, and of Wicklow in Ireland. Fl, 
summer, 
3. S. palustris, Linn. (fig. 1094). Creeping S.—Rootstock often 
creeping to a considerable extent, with numerous erect stems, often 
densely tufted, and not 6 inches high at the edge of the water, more 
distant, and a foot high or more when in the water; all leafless, ex- 
_ cept one or two short sheaths at their base, without leafy tips. Spike- 
lets, solitary and terminal, oblong, 4 to 6 lineslong. Glumes numerous, 
closely imbricated, brown, with scarious edges, and green on the mid- 
rib; the outer bract only differing from the glumes in being rather 
larger. Hypogynous bristles usually 4. Style 2-cleft. Not obovate, 
' crowned by a little conical tubercle, being the persistent base of the 
style. Eleocharis palustris, Br. 
On the edges of pools and watery ditches, throughout the northern 
hemisphere, and in some parts of the southern one. Frequent in 
Britain. Fl. all summer. Specimens with the outer bract rather 
broader, so as almost to enclose the base of the spike, are the S. 
uniglumis, Link. and Watsoni, Bab. 
4. S. multicaulis, Sm. (fig. 1095). Many-stalked S.—Very much 
like the last, and perhaps a mere variety, but smaller, forming dense 
tufts, with a few creeping offsets; the stems more slender, often 
slightly decumbent at the base, many of them barren and leaf-like. 
Spikelet rather smaller. Styles usually, but not always, 3-cleft, the 
nut becoming obovoid and triangular. Hypogynous bristles usually 6 
Eleocharis multicaulis, Br. 
In similar situations to S, palustris, and often mixed with it, but not 
so much in the water; recorded chiefly from northern and western 
Europe. Not unfrequent in Britain. Fl. summer. 
5. S. pauciflorus, Lightf. (fig. 1096). Few-flowered S.In appearance 
much like a starved, slender state of S. palustris, whilst the nut is nearer 
that of S. cespitosus. Stems slender and many of them barren, not 6 
inches high, the sheaths without leafy tips. Spikelet small, not con- 
taining above 5 or 6 flowers. Hypogynous bristles, 3-cleft style, and 
obovoid nut, as in S. multicaulis, but the thickened base of the style is 
considerably narrower, forming a tapering point to the nut, not a conical 
tubercle. 
In moorlands, and the edges of pools, in northern and central Europe, 
Asia, North -America, and the mountains of southern Europe, but 
scarcely an Arctic plant. In Britain, more frequent in Scotland, Ireland, 
and northern England than in the south. Fl. summer. 
6. S. esespitosus, Linn. (fig. 1097). Tufted S.—Stems 6 inches toa 
foot high, densely tufted, covered for an inch or two at their base with 
closely imbricated sheaths, the outer ones brown, the inner ones green. 
