340 



cyperacej:. 



Cyperus. 



leaved and setaceous, or wanting ; spikelets linear, somewhat terete, 6 - 8-flowered, the lower 

 ones compound ; rachilla very broad, easily separating at the joints ; scales ovate, rather 

 obtuse ; nut triquetrous, partly enclosed in the broad winged margin of the rachilla. — Schult. 

 mant. 2. p. 123 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 259. C. strigosus, Lam. ill. 1. no. 726 ( not of Linn.) ; 

 Michx. fl. 1. p. 28. C. erythrorhizus, Torr. fl. 1. p. 61 ; Beck, hot. p. 421 (not of Muhl). 



Annual ? Culm 8-15 inches high, firm and erect, thickened and reddish toward the root. 

 Leaves commonly shorter than the culm. Involucre 5 - 6-leaved, many times longer than 

 the umbel. Rays 4 - 6 ; the naked portion scarcely more than an inch long, sometimes 

 compound. Spikelets much crowded on the rays ; the lower ones compound, 6-8 lines long, 

 at first compressed, but nearly terete when mature. Scales of a firm texture, not scarious on 

 the margin, loosely imbricated, striate. Stamens 3. Style 3-cleft more than half way down. 

 Achenium light brown, slightly acuminate, partly embraced by the auriculate winged margins 

 of the rachilla, irregularly puncticulate. 



Borders of salt marshes : common in the neighborhood of New-York, and on Long Island. 

 I have also specimens from Rochester, collected by Dr. Knieskern. Fl. August. Fr. Oc- 

 tober. Kunth erroneously refers C. Michauxianus , Schult., to C. strigosus. 



5. Cyperus strigosus, Linn. (Plate CXXXVI.) Tail Galingale. 



Umbel simple or compound ; rays numerous, elongated ; involucels mostly wanting, or 

 setaceous ; spikes ovate ; spikelets 8 - 10-fiowered, linear-lanceolate, flattened, much crowded, 

 spreading horizontally or somewhat refracted ; rachilla slender, narrowly winged ; scales 

 oblong-lanceolate, conspicuously nerved, rather acute ; achenium linear-oblong, triquetrous. — 

 Linn. sp. 1. p. 47 ; Vahl, enum. 2. p. 253 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 52 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 70 ; Muhl. 

 gram. p. 21 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 62 (excl. syn. Michx.), <§• Cyp. p. 261 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 19 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 421 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 15 ; C. A. Mey. in mem. acad. St. Petersb. (ser. 6.) 

 l.p. 201. t. 3 ; Kunth, enum. 2. p. 87 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 232. C. Euslenii, Pursh, 

 I. c. p. 53 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 73. 



Culm triquetrous, 1-3 feet high ; the base somewhat tumid. Umbel 5 - 9-rayed, some- 

 what spreading ; the rays 2-6 inches or more in length, sometimes with one or two partial 

 rays ; the sheaths at the base terminating above in two bristles. Involucre 5 — 9-leaved, very 

 long. Spikes 1 - 2 inches long and more than an inch in diameter, each consisting of 20 - 80 

 spikelets which spread on all sides, and, in a mature state, are refracted on the rachis. 

 Spikelets about three-fourths of an inch long, deciduous when old. Scales somewhat loosely 

 imbricated, with a narrow scarious margin ; the sides yellowish. Stamens 3. Style 3-cleft 

 about one-fourth of its length. Achenium not half the length of the scale, grayish brown, 

 longitudinally striated with elevated dots arranged in lines. 



Wet meadows and low grounds : frequent. Fl. August. Fr. September. In sterile soils, 

 this species sometimes occurs not more than 2 or 3 inches high, with the spikelets clustered 

 and nearly sessile. 



