ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENUS CAREX. 
121 
Hab. Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, “in meadows 
and open woodlands,” Darlington. 
Culmus 1-4-pedalis, triqueter, scaber. Folia 1-2 lin. lata. 
Perigynium 1 T * (T -2 T 2 0 - lin. longum, T *u-1 lin. latnm. Achenium 
-f lin. longum, lin. latum, stipitatum. 
The most characteristic specimens of this form which I have 
are from Westchester, Pennsylvania, from Mr. Townsend, the 
spiculse all conspicuously clavate, the lower half with closely im¬ 
bricate male squamse of a ferruginous colour, as in the figure of 
Schkuhr, but in specimens from Connecticut, from Dr. Barratt, 
they are white, and the upper portion of the spiculse smaller and 
round. Dr. Darlington, in his ‘Flora Cestrica,’ describes the 
culm as occasionally four feet in length and decumbent. Speci¬ 
mens in no respect different are found with others like O. strami- 
nea on the same root. The specimens figured are from West¬ 
chester. 
C. straminea, Schk. (typica); spicis 3-6 stramineis, 
subrotundis, omnibus basi parce masculis vel ovatis, 
summa vel omnibus brevi conico-masculis plus minus 
approximate coarctatis vel discretis ssepe nudis; perigy- 
niis orbiculatis abrupte brevi vel ovatis vel ovalibus sen- 
sim longius rostratis basi plerumque rotundatis late 
alatis apertis, squama ovata obtusiuscula vel acuta vel 
mucronata subduplo latioribus paulo longioribus.— 
C. straminea, Schk. f. 34 et 174; Willd. 242; Kunth , 
398; Wahl. 145; Sclav, et Tor. 314; Dewey, vii. 276 
et xi. 157 ; Tuck. 17; Carey, 516; Chapman, 535; 
Darlington, 347 ; Gay, Ann. Sc. Nat. x. 362 ; Tor. Mon. 
395; Sartwell, Exs. n. 76. (Tab. CCCLXXXVII.) 
Hab. In America septentrionali. 
Culmus 1-2-pedalis, triqueter, scaber, firmns. Folia 1-11 
lin. lata, culmo breviora. Perigynium l T a 0 - lin. longum, 1-,-y 
lin. latum (rostro Ag —to lin. longo), vel 2 ~ lin. longum, 
I-j-'-q— pg- lin. latum (rostro T G 0 lin. longo), ad latera ssepe spon¬ 
giosum corrugatum. Achenium T s () - lin. longum et latum, 
ferrugineum. 
I have described above as the typical form mature specimens 
sent to me by Dr. Barratt from Connecticut, and which are figured 
in Tab. CCCLXXX.VII. Among them were spikes having the 
character of C. festucacea. The inflorescence is at times coarctate 
or with the spiculse alternate, more or less approximate, and with 
bracteae more or less setaceous, characters equally variable in all 
the forms. The prevalent form of the perigynium is orbicular, 
with a short abrupt rostrum, but it is occasionally oval or broadly 
ovate, with a rounded or subcordate or more or less subattenuated 
base, and with a longer conical rostrum. 
C. straminea, var. Crawei ; spiculis 6, majoribus 
basi conico-masculis pallidis contiguis nudis; perigy- 
niis ovalibus ovatis vel suborbiculatis sensim longe ros¬ 
tratis ad latera spongiosis corrugatis late alatis, squama 
ovata acuta vel obtusa mutica subduplo longioribus. 
(Tab. CCCLXXXVIII.) 
Hab. Michigan, Crawe. Wisconsin Prairies, Lap- 
ham. Darby Plains, Ohio, Sullivant. Connecticut, 
Barratt. 
Culmus sub-3-pedalis, validus. Folia 2-3 lin. lata. Spicules 
9-10 lin, longae, 4 lin. late, omnes basi conico-masculm. 
Squamae ssepius obtusse, muticse. Perigynium 3| lin. longum, 
I 7 A lin. latum. Achenium 1 -m lin. longum, lin. latum. 
The specimen figured is from Michigan, and Crawe had marked 
it “ C. alata ?” but it differs in the form of the perigynium and 
squamse from that variety. Mr. Carey had named the Ohio speci¬ 
mens as C. straminea. The pale fulvous ovate squamae, as con¬ 
trasted with the pale green of the perigynia, is striking, and while 
the habit is that of C. festucacea, the large perigynia with their 
broad wings and long rostrum are marked distinctions from that 
variety. 
To this form I refer, as a small variety, the Texas plant which I 
published in 1845 as C. hyalina, the pale uniform glaucous colour 
of the spiculse of which, with the undulate wings of the perigy¬ 
nium, led me, when I was less familiar with the variations of the 
group, to consider it distinct. Scheele has so considered it since, 
but there are no specific characters about it. 
C. hyalina, Boott, Boston Journ. Nat. Hist. 1845. C. tetra- 
stachys, Scheele, Steudel, 198. (Tab. CCCLXXI, No. 2.) 
Culmus flaccidus. Folia angusta. Spiculae 2-4. Perigy¬ 
nium 2 - T 3 f) - T 7 „ lin. longum, 1 T s - 0 - lin. latum, late alatum. 
Achenium l-l- l o bn. longum, - 4 0 lin. latum, oblongo-obovatum. 
Squamae muticse. 
Hab. Texas, Drummond. Labady Prairies, Texas, Schlott- 
mann. 
I am indebted to M. Sonder for Scheele’s plant, and I have the 
same from Chapman, without a habitat or name. 
C. straminea, var. Meadii; spiculis 5-6, subrotundis 
contiguis pallidis basi parce masculis nudis; perigyniis 
ovalibus orbiculatis vel cordatis longe rostratis apertis, 
squama longe acuminata vel subhispido cuspidata lati¬ 
oribus longioribus. (Tab. CCCLXXXIX.) 
Hab. Illinois, Dr. Short, Dr. Mead. 
Culmus 2-pedalis, subvalidus. Squamae masculse pallide 
straminese, marginibus late albo-hyalinm. Perigynium 2 -, 3 0 —3 
lin. longum, l T V~ni bn. latum, nec ad latera spongiosum. 
Achenium 1 lin. longum, lin. latum, ovale. 
The long cuspidation of the squamae, with their broad hyaline 
margins, give a peculiar aspect to this form. I have it from 
Dr. Short, and from Mr. Carey from Dr. Mead, under the name 
of C. straminea. Mr. Carey remarks that “ the broad chestnut- 
coloured wing and hyaline margins of the squamse render the 
spiculse less rigid.” I have only seen it from Illinois. It differs 
from the preceding variety in the long cuspidation of the squamse. 
The specimen figured is from Dr. Mead. 
281. C. stipata (Muhlenberg); spica cylindrica vel ob- 
longo-ovata vel hastata ssepe maxima crassa densiflora 
pallide olivacea dernum flavida decomposita, e spiculis 
numerosis squarrosis congestis, inferioribus vel fere om¬ 
nibus compositis nudis vel brevi setaceo-bracteatis; stig- 
matibus 2, brevibus ; perigyniis e basi turgida truncata 
ovatis sensim in rostrum longum lineare attenuatis bi- 
fidis, marginibus superne acutis serratis, utrinque pluri- 
nervatis stipitatis membranaceis ima basi insigniter 
spongiosis divergentibus, squama ovato-lanceolata acuta 
vel cuspidata albida nervo viridi longioribus.—C. sti¬ 
pata, Muhl. 220 ; Schk. f. 132; Willd. 233 ; Kunth, 
382 ; Ml. 529 ; Schw. et Tor. 304 ; Carey, 512 ; Dewey 
Sill. vii. 271 et x. .277; Chap. 533; Sartwell, Exs. n. 18. 
C. vulpinoidea, Tor. Mon. 390 (i non Michaux). (Tab. 
CCCXC. et CCCXGI.: var. maxima, Chapman.) 
Hab. In America septentrionali et Japan. Arctic 
America to Florida, Columbia River; Hakodadi, Japan, 
Wright fU. St. Exp. Exped., Binggold et BogersJ. 
Culmus 1-3-pedalis, latus, angulis acutissimis, faciebus con- 
cavis, flaccidus, apice scaber. Folia 2-9 lin. lata, culmo bre¬ 
viora vel sequantia. Vaginal ssepe transversim corrugate. 
Bracteae setacese, spiculis vix, nisi infima, longiores. Squamae 
2 K 
