Carex. 



CYPERACEiE. 



389 



Borders of lakes, in wet places. Lake Ontario, &c. (Dr. Gray) ; Niagara Falls, and in 

 Essex county (Dr. Knieskern). Fl. June - July. Fr. August. Our plant agrees very well 

 with Lapland specimens of C. aquatilis in my herbarium. 



42. Carex aurea, Nutt. Golden-fruited Sedge. 



Sterile spike solitary ; fertile spikes 3-4, oblong, loosely flowered , the lower ones pe- 

 dunculate ; perigynium obovate or pyriform, obtuse, nerved, entire at the orifice, longer than 

 the ovale acute scale. — Nutt. gen. 2. p. 205 ; Schwein. <£■ Torr. I. c. p. 328. t. 25. f. 2 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 437 ; Kunth, enum. 2. p. 408. C. pyriformis, Schwein. anal. tab. I. c; Dew. 

 Car. I. c. 9. p. 69 11. t. 2. /. 30. 



Culm 4-15 inches long, slender, erect or reclining, striate. Staminate spike 4-6 lines 

 long, pedunculate, often fertile at the summit ; the scales oblong, obtuse. Fertile spikes 

 mostly 3 ; the lowest one remote, and furnished with a peduncle which is half an inch to an 

 inch or more in length, sometimes almost pendulous ; the upper ones approximated : fertile 

 scales whitish, with a broad pale purple margin, often mucronate : rachis flexuous. Peri- 

 gynium about one line long, membranaceous, orange-yellow when mature, somewhat ventricose, 

 the orifice very minute and scarcely prominent. Achenium orbicular-oval, lenticular, finely 

 striate and a little rough. 



Wet borders of streams, and in swamps : not common. Fl. May - June. Fr. July. 



43. Carex crinita, Lam. (Plate CXLIII.) Fringed Sedge, 



Spikes elongated, cylindrical, cernuous ; the sterile 1-2, often fertile at the summit, or 

 sometimes at the base ; fertile 4-5, densely flowered, distant ; perigynium roundish-obovate, 

 somewhat ventricose, slightly beaked, entire at the orifice ; scales cuneate, with a long much 

 exserted subulate rough awn. — Lam. enc. 3. p. 379 ; Schk. Car. t. Eee. f. 125, and t. Ttt. 

 f. 164 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 38 ; Muhl. gram. p. 229 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 536 ; Schwein. <$• Torr. 

 Car. I. c. p. 360 ; Deiv. Car. I. c. 10. p. 270 ; Beck, hot. p. 442 ; Darlingt.fl. Cest. p. 40 ; 

 Kunth, enum. 2. p. 415. C. paleacea, Wahl. act. Holm. 1803. p. 164. C. leonura, Wahl. 

 (fide Sivartz. Sf Muhl.). 



Culm 2-4 feet high, triquetrous, rough on the angles, leafy below. Leaves pale green, 

 3-4 lines broad. Staminate spikes usually 2, one or two inches long, often with a few fertile 

 flowers either at the summit or the base : scales lanceolate, with a slender point. Fertile 

 spikes usually 4 but sometimes 3 or 5, pedunculate, 2-3 inches long, often attenuated at the 

 base ; the scales usually with very long spreading subulate points, which give the spikes a 

 squarrose appearance. Perigynium membranaceous, smooth, slightly ventricose, sparingly 

 nerved. Achenium broadly obovate-lenticular, acute, dull, smooth. 



Wet meadows, and borders of rivulets : common. Fl. May - June. Fr. July. A variable 

 species as to the length of the spikes and scales. 



