Monop-aph of North American Rhynchospora. 193 
By far the greatest number of the species of Rhynchospora 
are natives of America. The Systema Vcgetahillum of Spren- 
gel, the latest enumeration I have seen, comprises 38 species, 
exclusive of 5 species of Carpha of R. Brown, which are by 
Sprengel referred to this genus. To these we may add 5 
species from Roemer and Schultes, Mantissa, vol. II. which 
increases the number of species to 43. Of these, 30 are na- 
tives of America, 6 of New Holland, 4 of the East Indies, 1 of 
the Cape of Good Hope, and 2 are common both to Europe 
and North America. 
In Willdenow's Species Flantarum two species of Rhyn- 
chospora are described as natives of North America, viz. Schoe- 
nus glomeratus and cymosus. Lamarck, in the first volume of 
his illustrations of the Genera of Plants, published in 1791, has 
imperfectly characterized three species, which were collected 
in Carolina and Florida by Mr. Eraser. Two of these can be 
satisfactorily determined, and to these the specific names of 
Lamarck must be restored, to the exclusion of those conferred 
by later authors. Michaux, in the Flora Boreali-Americana, 
has enumerated nine species, and they are, for the most part, 
very accurately described. The Dcscriptio Ubcrior Grami- 
num of Muhlenberg, contains 'detailed descriptions of thirteen 
species of this genus. Specimens of many of these, however, 
do not exist in his herbarium ; and those which have a place 
there are in such a state of confusion, (there being often three 
or four species with a single label) that little information is to 
be obtained by consulting it. 
The species of Schoenus with hypogynous bristles and a 
sub-articulated tubercle were separated to form the genus 
Rhynchospora, by Vahl, in the second volume of his Enume- 
barium comprises. It appears that he had paid much attention to this ge- 
nus and to the Cyperaceae in general, and many of his observations are 
valuable. 
I have adopted the specific names proposed by Dr. Baldwin, except 
in cases wliere they have been previously applied to other species, or are 
for some other reason objectionable. 
