892 



THE SEDGE FAMILY. 



channelled or nearly cylindrical. Spike 

 terminal, 6 to 9 lines long, consisting of 

 about 6 sessile spikclets, of a dark, shin- 

 ing brown, almost black, each containing 

 only 2 to 4 flowers, and almost concealed 

 by the outer bract, which is dark brown, 

 thin, and shining, about 3 lines long. 

 Glumes of the spikelet imbricated all 

 round the axis, the lowest one often 

 empty. Stamens 3 ; the hypogynous 

 bristles minute or wanting. Nut rather 

 larger than in the broad B. 



In marshy places, especially near the 

 sea, in northern Europe and all across 

 Russian Asia, extending from northern 

 Germany nearly to the Arctic Circle. 

 In Britain, particularly abundant in Scot- 

 land and northern England, descending 



along the west coast of England, and not uncommon in Ireland. 



Fl. summer. 



Fig. 1074. 



VI. SCIRPUS. SCIRPUS. 



Spikelets either solitary and terminal or several together, forming 

 one or more heads or clusters, or an irregular panicle, either terminal 

 or apparently below the top of the stem. Glumes several in each 

 spikelet, imbricated all round the axis, all containing a perfect flower 

 in their axil except sometimes the lowest one. Hypogynous bristles 

 either 6 or fewer and shorter than the glume, or altogether wanting. 



A large genus, widely distributed over the whole world, and, like 

 other large genera of Sedges, containing species very unlike each other 

 in general habit. It has been repeatedly endeavoured to divide it into 

 several, with characters derived from the hypogynous bristles, the shape 

 of the base of the style, the number of its parts, etc., but the smaller 

 groups so formed still include species as unlike each other as those of 

 the original genus, whilst species closely resembling each other in 

 every other respect have become widely separated. The genus is there- 

 fore here retained in its integrity, distinguished from Beaksedge by the 

 glumes all bearing flowers except the lowest, from Cyperus by the 

 arrangement of the glumes, and from Blysmus by the arrangement of 

 the spikelets. 



