120 
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENUS CAREX. 
alte secto, ad latera seepe spongiosis corrugatis margini- 
bus anguste vel late alatis tenuissime serrulatis utrinque 
plus minus nervatis appressis vel apertis, squama ovata 
obtusiuscula vel lanceolata acuta vel acutissima saepe 
mucronulata vel aristata albo-hyalina vel superne vel 
omnino straminea longioribus vel subsequantibus saepe 
duplo vel subtriplo latioribus. 
Before alluding to the varieties of this species, I think it best 
to give the description of it by M. Spach, as observed by him in 
the Paris Garden; a large suite of specimens from which accom¬ 
panied his note. 
cc C. straminea (. Hort. Paris.) densos, e culmis numerosis 
(2-300) omnibus spicigeris, csespites efformat: fasciculis steri- 
libus, per setatem saltern, nullis intermixtis. Desunt omnino 
etiam culmi steriles, quales constanter agunt C. lagopodioides 
ej usque var. C. crist at a, et ? C. mirabilis, necnon C. arida 
“ Culmus obtusangulus, fructifer haud raro elegantissime 
reclinatus. Folia profunde viridia, planiuscula, substricta. 
Vagina arctse, obtuse vel obsolete trigonse; ore haud ampliato. 
—Facillime hoc charactere distinguitur in vivo culmus imo 
juvenilis C. straminea a C. lagopodioide et C. cristata, quarum 
vaginae sunt sursum ampliatse, laxae, et conspicue carinato-tri- 
quetrse. In eodem rhizomate variat, spicis strictis densis vel 
plus minusve laxis, rachi flexuosa, haud raro cernuaj spiculis 
longius vel brevius clavatis, aut (prsesertim in spicis densiori- 
bus) ovoideis vel ovalibus, basi vix aut ne vix angustata, et 
parce masculiflora. Spiculas etiam vidi rarius ex toto foemi- 
neas. Culmis aliis strictioribus et validioribus, aliis debiliori- 
bus gracilibus diffusis, plerisque foliis conspicue longioribus: 
paucioribus folia parum superantibus, paucissimis folia haud 
aequantibus. Perigynia, quoad figuram et amplitudinem poly- 
morpha ovata, orbiculata, ovalia, obovata, abrupte brevi vel 
sensim longius rostrata, late vel anguste alata, modo squama 
vix latiora, modo squamam plus minusve superantia, nunc 
imo perfectissima maturitate (planta in viva) adpressa, nunc 
jam juventute quam serius plus minusve divergentia, haud 
raro stellatim patentia. Plerumque cito brunescunt, et etiam 
observari haud pauca, quamvis submatura, colore viridi aut 
pallide stramineo adhucdum gaudentia.” 
In the general character I have given above of this species, I 
have enumerated the variations observable in it, and now proceed 
to notice the principal forms it assumes. It will be found that no 
dependence can be placed on any one single character; and if we 
look at specimens from various localities, we shall find the differ¬ 
ence supposed to exist between the several recorded species to 
elude us. I have figured these and some others from my herba¬ 
rium, which contains a large suite of specimens, and I believe that 
any one patiently studying the group from equally ample mate¬ 
rials, will be obliged to admit that it is impossible to discover ex¬ 
clusive characters on which any satisfactory specific distinctions 
can be founded. 
C. straminea, var. tenera; spiculis 3-6 parvis ovalibus 
vel obovatis contiguis vel plus minus approximates ferru- 
gineis nuclis vel bracteatis, rachi saepe flexuosa; perigy- 
niis ovatis vel orbiculatis sensim brevi lateque conico- 
rostratis plus minus alatis palliclis, squama ovata obtu¬ 
siuscula vel acuta fulva paulo latioribus longioribus.—- 
C. tenera, Dewey , viii. 97 ; Sartwell, JExs. n. 45. C. stra¬ 
minea, var. minor, Deivey, xi. 318; Tor. Cyp. 395. 
C. festucacea, var. tenera, Carey. (Tab. CCCLXXXIV.) 
Hab. Arctic America to New York. 
Culmus l-|-pedalis, gracillimus, scaber, nutans. Folia |-1 
lin. lata. Perigynium 1 t V~tV lin. longum, T 8 Ti lin. latum. 
Achenium T U lin. longum, y o lin. latum, ssepe suborbiculatum. 
Squama 1 yy lin. longa, -y- lin. lata. 
Dewey describes the perigynium both in his C. tenera and his 
C. straminea, var. minor, as ovate, the “ oblong-lanceolate” scale in 
C. tenera being about two-thirds the length of the perigynium, 
and in C. straminea minor as “ ovate acute” about equal to it. 
This, the smallest form of the group, is clearly through the pre¬ 
ceding variety insensibly connected with the var. festucacea and 
the typical form, and I think that gradations will be found here¬ 
after equally connecting C. fcenea and C. alata with them. 
In Tab. CCCLXXXIV. the specimens figured are from Dewey. 
IN o. 1, his “ C. tenera,” No. 2, his “ C. straminea minor" (with peri¬ 
gynia and a squama from Oluey’s “ C. tenera ,” which is referable, 
from the longer acuminate squama, to the following variety). 
C. straminea, var. aperta ; spiculis 4-8 ferrugineis 
omnibus plus minus (terminali ssepe conspicue) basi 
conico-masculis nuclis ; perigyniis late ovalibus vel sub- 
orbiculatis lunge conico-rostratis, ore bidentato antice 
alte secto, divergentibus ad latera spongiosis corrugatis, 
squama lanceolata acuminata acutissima longioribus triplo 
latioribus.—C. festucacea, Sartwell, Exs. n. 44 [ex parte). 
C. tenera, Olney. (Tab. CCCLXXXV.) 
Hab. America septentrionali. New England to New 
Jersey. 
Culmus 2-pedalis, apice gracillimus, nutans. Folia lineam 
lata. Squ.ama omnes lanceolata;, acutissimse. Perigynium 
2-2yy lin. longum, T a u --1 T V lin. latum (rostro Vo bn- longo). 
Achenium T 7 0 lin. longum, T \- lin. latum, ovale. 
I have figured these specimens to show how one form passes 
into others. They are intermediate between the typical form, the 
var. festucacea and tenera differing from festucacea in the gracile 
nutant culm, larger conical rostrum, and acuminate squamae; 
aud from tenera in the larger, more numerous spiculas, longer acu¬ 
minate squamae, and the larger perigynium, which has a more 
marked divergence than in either of the above. In aspect they 
resemble C. adusta, but differ in the colour of the spiculae, fewer 
nerves on the perigynium, and in the narrow oval achenium. 
I have specimens from Nuttall (Cambridge), marked with a star, 
which was usual with him when he thought the species wms new ; 
and from Tuckerman, who found it in “ wet ground by a pond, in 
Amherst,” and who includes it in bis “ C. straminea [moniliformis) A 
I have two copies of Sartwell’s ‘ Carices Exsiccatse,’ in one of which, 
under n. 44, he has distributed this plant as C. festucacea, and in 
the other, under the same number and name, the form I have re¬ 
ferred in Tab. CCCLXXVII. to C. fosnea. The specimens from 
Rhode Island, sent as C. tenera by Olney (two perigynia and a 
squama of which I had figured in Tab. CCCLXXXIV. before I 
bad received the larger form from Nuttall on the sale of his her¬ 
barium last year), merely differ in their smaller size, the squama 
equalling the perigynium. 
In Tab. CCCLXXXV. the smaller specimen figured is the n. 44 
(ex parte ) Sartwell, Exs.; and the larger one from Nuttall. 
C. straminea , var. festucacea; spicis 5-8 ferrugineis vel 
albo-viridibus, omnibus plus minus clavatis alternatim 
approximates nudis, vel infima brevi setaceo-bracteatis; 
perigyniis ovalibus ovatis orbiculatis basi rotundatis vel 
subcordatis vel subacutis sensim longiuscule vel sub- 
abrupte brevius rostratis saepe anguste alatis apertis, 
squama acuta vel mucronata longioribus.—C. festucacea, 
Schkuhr, f. 173; Willd. 242; Kunth, 401; Dewey , 
viii. 96; Schw. . et Tor. 316; Tor. Cyp. 394; Darling¬ 
ton, 347 ; Carey, 516. C. straminea, var., Gay, Tucfcer- 
rnan. Chapman. G. albo-lutescens, Schweinitz. (Tab. 
CCCLXXXVI.) 
