Monograph of North American Ilhjnchoqm'a. 2l5 
2G. Rhynchospora fusca, Rcem 4' Schult» 
R. folils setaceis, canaliculato-carinatis ; spiculis ovato-obldn^ 
gis ; nuce laevi, obovata, subtumida, basi paulo attenuata, 
setis sursum hispidulis duplo breviore ; tuberculd compresso, 
marg-ine senulato-scabro. 
R. fusca, Rcmm. Sf Scliult. Sysi. Vcg. if. p. bl. Spreng. Syst* 
Vfg. I. p. 194. 
R. alba rar. fusca, Vuld. Eimm. II. p. 236. 
SchcEuus fuscus, LinUi Sj). PL p. 1664. Wahl. FL Suec. L 
p. 23. 
Culm 6 to 12 inches high, very slender, smooth. Leaves setaceous, 
channelled ; radical ones elongated ; cauline ones very short. Fascicles 
1 — 3, few-flowered; the uppermost approximate, on short included 
peduncles ; the lowest remote, exsertly pedunculate. Spikelets ovate, 
oblong, acute. Glumes mucronate, dark fuscous and shining. Bristles 
6, very slender, hispid upward, about twice the length of the nut; 
three alternate ones somewhat shortest, or scarcely exceeding the nut< 
Stamens 3. Nut smooth, but with its surface often slightly irregular, 
obovate, sub-attenuate at the base, lenticular, somewhat tumid. Tu- 
bercle much compressed, broad at the base, serrulate on the margin, 
attenuate into the style, which is sometimes almost wholly persistent. 
Hab. Pine barrens of New Jersey, Torrey ; Boston, Dr. 
Pickerinor. 
Obs. Our plant agrees in every respect with a Swedish spe- 
cimen of i?.yM5m, except that in the foreign plant, the nut is 
somewhat uneven and a little more tumid than in ours. I 
am, however, satisfied of their identity. This species is 
quite distinct from R. alba, of which some European bota- 
nists have considered it a variety. It is much more nearly 
related to R. capillacea, from which it is well distinguished 
by the form of the nut, the upward direcUon of the hispid- 
ness of the brisdes, and the serrulate tubercle. In this spe^ 
cies the glumes are dark fuscous ; in R. cajnllacea they are 
light fuscous or chesnut coloured. R. fusca has carinate and 
channelled leaves ; in R. ca.piUacca they are nearly flat* 
Vol. III. 28 
