352 



CYPERACE.E. 



Scirpus. 



Culm 2-10 inches high, rather rigid, finely striate, densely clothed towards the base with 

 imbricated sheaths, of which the upper ones bear rudimentary leaves. Spikes 2 lines long, 

 4 - 5-flowered, somewhat compressed. Scales of a yellowish brown color : the lowest one 

 narrow, and usually overtopping the spike ; the next a little shorter ; the others ovate, obtuse. 

 Bristles 6, longer than the achenium. 



Wet places on the high mountains of Essex county. Fl. July. 



** Culm many-spiked. 

 t Spikes lateral. 



4. Scirpus debilis, Pursh. (Plate CXXXIX.) Weak-stalked Clubrush. 



Culm terete, with naked sheaths or leaves at the base, striate ; spikes 3-5, ovoid, closely 

 sessile, the culrn continued far beyond them ; scales broadly ovate, obtuse, mucronulate ; 

 style 2 - 3-cleft ; achenium broadly obovate, plano-convex, slightly punctate and obscurely 

 rugulose (dark brown and shining), shorter than the rigid bristles. — Pursh, fl. 1. p. 55 ; 

 Muhl. gram. p. 34 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 79 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 21 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 48 ; Beck, 

 hot. p. 425 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 21 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 320 ; Kunth, enum. 2. p. 159. 



Culms 6-18 inches high, cespitose, usually with a few radical flattish or compressed 

 leaves at the base, and one or two naked sheaths. Spikes often solitary, but more commonly 

 3 ( sometimes 5 or 6 ) growing from the side of the culm several inches below the summit, 

 3-5 lines long. Scales nearly orbicular, concave, membranaceous, mostly obtuse with a 

 small mucronate tip, yellowish on the sides, the centre green. Bristles 4-6, strong, some- 

 times only rudimentary. Stamens 3. Style mostly 2-cleft. Achenium much compressed, very 

 obtuse, the breadth nearly equal\to the length, slightly mucronate, dark brown or nearly black 

 when mature ; the surface, when magnified, appearing a little rugulose, or waved transversely. 



Borders of lakes and rivulets, particularly in sandy soils : northern and western counties ; 

 also on Long Island. Fl. July. Fr. August. 



5. Scirpus triqueter, Linn. Chainnaker s Rush. 



Culm triquetrous or slightly winged, two of the sides concave, the other flat, nearly leafless, 

 or the sheaths at the base bearing one or two short leaves ; spikes 1-6, aggregated and 

 sessile, ovoid-oblong ; scales orbicular-ovate, membranaceous, mucronate, pubescent on the 

 margin ; anthers with a subulate fringed tip ; bristles slender, shorter than the achenium ; 

 style 2-cleft ; achenium doubly convex, acuminate. — Linn. mant. p. 29 ; Willd. sp. l.p. 302; 

 R. Br. prodr. 1. p. 223 ; Michx. fl. 1. p. 47 ; Muhl. gram. p. 33 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 322 ; 

 Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 592 (suppl.); Kunth, enum. 2. p. 163. S. Arnericanus, Pers. syn. 1. 

 p. 68 ; Pursh, fl. l.p. 56; Ell. sk. 1. p. 80 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 21 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 47 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 425. S. pungens, Vahl, enum. 2. p. 255. S. mucronatus, Pursh, I. c. 



Culm 3-5 feet high, slender, mucronate at the extremity, very acutely triangular, and 



