360 



CYPERACEiE. 



FlMBRISTYLIS. 



** Without a perigynium. 



7. FlMBRISTYLIS. Vahl, enum. 2. p. 285 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 343. FlMBRISTYLIS. 



[ From the Latin, fimbria, a fringe, and stylus, a style.] 



Scales imbricated on all sides. Bristles none. Style compressed, 2-cleft, more or less bulbous 

 at the base, wholly deciduous, mostly ciliate on the margin. — Habit of Scirpus. 



1. Fimbristylls spadicea, Vahl. Tall Brown-spiked Fimbristylis. 



Culm somewhat compressed, nearly naked ; leaves semiterete, filiform, channelled ; umbel 

 of few rays, simple or compound, erect-spreading; spikes ovoid-oblong or cylindrical-oblong ; 

 scales rigid, broadly ovate, obtuse ; involucre of 2 - 3 subulate leaves, mostly shorter than 

 the umbel ; stamens 3 ; style broad, strongly fimbriate, slightly bulbous at the base ; achenium 

 obovate, unequally biconvex, punctato-striate. — Vahl, enum. 2. p. 294 ? ; Pursh, fl. I. p. 49 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 423 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 346 ; Kunth, enum. 2. p. 237. F. cylindrica, Vahl, I. c; 

 Kunth, I. c. Scirpus spadiceus, Linn. sp. 1. p. 51 ? ; Walt. fl. Car. p. 30; Ell. sk. 1. 

 p. 84 ; Muhl. gram. p. 36 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 53. S. puberulus, Michx. fl. I. p. 31. 



Culm 1-3 feet high, nearly terete toward the base, compressed and striate above, rigid, 

 smooth. Leaves nearly radical, 6-8 inches long, a little rough on the margin toward the 

 summit ; the sheaths loose and distichous. Spikes 3-6 lines long and 2 lines in diameter, 

 becoming almost cylindrical in fruit. Scales much dilated, somewhat mucronate, pale rusty 

 colored and minutely pubescent when young ; chestnut-colored, smooth and shining when old. 

 Stamens 3 : filaments broad. Style divided about one-third of its length ; the segments re- 

 curved. Achenium obtuse, whitish, thin on the margin, marked with lines of impressed dots. 



Salt marshes, near New-York : rare. Fl. August. Fr. September. 



8. ISOLEPIS. R. Br. prodr. p. 221 ; Torr. Cyp. p. 348. ISOLEPIS. 



[ From the Greek, isos, ecjual, and lepis, a scale.] 

 Oncostylis, Marl. 



Scales of the spike imbricated on all sides. Bristles none. Style 3-cleft, simple at the base, 

 or with a minute bulb from which it separates. Achenium triangular, often crowned with 

 the minute tubercular base of the style. — Habit of Scirpus. 



1. Isolepis capillaris, Ro2m. Sf Schult. Hair-like Isolepis. 



Culm capillary, angular and sulcate, nearly naked ; leaves setaceous, serrulate-ciliate, much 

 shorter than the culm ; spikes umbelled, terminal, on short rays, usually 4, ovoid-oblong ; 

 scales somewhat 4-rowed, oblong, obtuse, slightly pubescent ; stamens 2 ; style 3-cleft ; 

 achenium triangular, undulately corrugated transversely. — Ram. $ Schultes, 2. p. 118; 



