REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST 



131 



setaceous, 3"-6" long, the upper mostly concealed by the crowded 

 spikelets; perigynia long, firm, sometimes faintly nerved 

 near the distinct margin, round-ovate, tapering into a short, 

 rough-edged, bidentate beak, widely spreading at maturity ; 

 scale white, thin, ovate, with a rough-awned point, a little smaller 

 than the perigynium ; achenium round-ovate, the short style with 

 a conic base . 



This is one of our commonest species and can not be con- 

 founded with any other. It grows in open fields and in and 

 about woods and copses. J une. 



From forms of C. Muhlenbergii, which sometimes approach it 

 in the shape and size of the head, it is easily separated by its 

 smaller perigynia. 



11. Carex Muhlenbergii Schk. 

 Stems 15-30' high, firm, erect, triangular, rough on the angles 

 near the head, smooth below ; leaves shorter than the culm, l£"-2' 

 wide, open, flat, or sometimes slightly involute, smooth except on 

 the margins, the ends slender and setaceous; spike i'-l-£' in 

 length, 3" broad or more, green ; spikelets 4-9, globose, contigu- 

 ous, 2*-3* long, spreading or the 3 upper erect ; bracts bristle- 

 shaped, conspicuous, long; perigynia I-J-"-2" long, firm, 

 broadly round-ovate, strongly nerved on both sides, terminating 

 in a short, rough-margined, bidentate beak, spreading but not 

 reflexed ; scale ovate, pointed or rough-awned, about as long as 

 the perigynium ; achenium round-ovate, the short style with a 

 conical base. 



Common ; growing in a variety of soil, but especially in light 

 sandy or sterile places. In some forms the head is ovate, resem- 

 bling that of the preceding species. June. 



Var. enervis Boott. Differs from the type in its slender, 

 spreading, sometimes reclining stems, its soft leaves 1" wide, and 

 its shorter spike and fewer-flowered spikelets, its smaller, less firm, 

 exactly ovate, nerveless perigynia, the scale thin, mostly smooth- 

 pointed or mucronate. This slender form is, perhaps, peculiar 

 to south-eastern New York (Westchester county), where it 

 inhabits open and slightly shaded grounds. The form which 

 differs from the type only in its nerveless perigjnia (Gray's Man.) 

 occurs farther north. Kensselaer county. 



