292 North American Cyperacea. 
petals ovate-oblong, obtuse, with a short scabrous awn below 
the summit, 3-nerved ; the upper portion tumid ; bristles nearly 
as long as the nut. 
F. squarrosa, Torr!. Rocky mount, plants, in Ann. Lye. N. York. 2. 
p. 252. 
Culm about a span high, rather slender, Leaves one line broad, flat, 
somewhat hairy. Involucre 1-leaved. Spikes about 3, sessile, ovate. 
Scales ovate, obtuse, hairy ; awn longer than the lamina. Bristles stiff, 
a little incurv^ed, two thirds the length of the petals, retrorsely scabrous. 
Petals subcordate at the base; lower part of the lamina compressed, the 
upper part spongy, subemarginate, bearing a distinct, abrupt, retrorsely 
scabrous awn a short distance below the summit. Nut abruptly con- 
tracted at the base. 
Hab. Arkansas ? Collected by Dr. James in Long's 
Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. 
Oas. The five forms of Fuirena here described are, for the 
present, referred to F. squarrosa, although it is probable they 
include several distinct species. I have not yet determined to 
my entire satisfaction what degree of dependence is to be 
placed on the shape and relative length of the floral envelopes 
in this genus. If they are liable to variation, we probably have, 
besides the F. scirpoidea, but one other species of the genus in 
the United States. 
2. Fuirena hispida, Elliott. 
" Leaves long, and with the sheaths very hispid; culm his- 
pid above ; heads many (5 — 8) clustered ; valves of the corolla 
ovate, raucronate." 
F. hispida, Elliott! sk. 1. p. 579. 
" Culm 1 — 2 feet high, erect and decumbent, smooth along the lower 
joints. Leaves narrow, tapering, 4 — 8 inches long, many-nerved, hispid, 
particularly on the lower surface. Scales oval, the outer ones hispid, the 
inner ones finely pubescent ; awn long, expanding. Stamens 3, scarcely 
longer than the corolla. Styles twice as long as the stamens." 
Hab. Borders of ponds in the middle districts of Georgia 
and Carolina, Elliott!, Dr. Boykin. — July — October. 
