110 
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENUS CAREX. 
oblongo-cylindricis basi attenuatis sessilibus vel brevi 
exserte pedunculatis; bracteis inferioribus vaginatis an- 
gustis culmurn subaequantibus ; stigmatibus 3 ; perigy- 
niis ellipticis plano-triquetris rostratis bifurcatis supeme 
marginibus scabris nervatis subinflatis sanguineis vel pal- 
lidis maculatis membranaceis, squama lanceolata acuta 
rarius emarginata cuspidata longioribus vel cuspide bre- 
vioribus.—C. Borbonica, Lam. Ency, iii. 387 (1789); 
Willd. 267 ; Sc/d. p. 55; Spreng. 817; Kunth, 522. 
(Tab. CCCXXXVIII.-CCCXL.) 
Hab. In Ins. Bourbon, Commerson, Boivin (Herb. 
Mus. Paris). 
Culmus l|-pedalis, triqueter, la;vis, inter spicas scaber, va- 
lidus, rigidus, basi foliosus, sursum foliis vaginantibus munitus; 
pars spicas gerens 2-3 poll, longa. Folia 1-3 lin. lata, culmo 
paulo breviora, plana, carinata, stricta, erecta, rigida, acuta: 
basi involuta purpurea. Bracteae anguste, inferiores vaginatse, 
culmo subinde paulo longiores, 1-2 steriles, 2-4 poll, remote, 
longius vaginatse. Vagina infima 6-9 lin. longa. Pedunculi 
3-12 lin. longi. Spica terminalis mascula, pollicaris, 2 lin. 
lata, sessilis: vel basi subdimidiatim mascula, vel basi et apice 
mascula vel sterilis, pedunculata, 18-21 lin. longa; reliquse 
foeminese, 10-22 lin. longse, 3-4 lin. late, acute: infima in- 
terdum 2 poll, remota. Infra spicam terminalem subinde ad- 
sunt flosculi foeminei 1-2 alterni, quasi rudimenta spicarum. 
Squamae conformes, sanguineo-ferruginese, rarius emarginate. 
Perigynium 2 T 7 (T lin. longum, f Tl — r 8 () lin. latum, aclienium laxe 
vestiens. Aclienium 1 r ' 0 - lin. longum, -A- lin. latum, oblongo- 
obovatum vel ellipticum, triquetrum, fuscum, punctulatum, 
basi styli recta vel curvata apiculatum. 
I am indebted to M. Spacb for specimens of this plant, collected 
by Boivin in the Isle of Bourbon. Notwithstanding the evident 
difference in the breadth and length of the leaves and bracts, I 
doubt the specific distinction of the following species. The pre¬ 
sence of sterile bracts in G. Borbonica would suggest the probability 
of spikes being occasionally developed in them, and the inflores¬ 
cence would then be similar to that of C. Simensis. No dependence 
can be placed on the position of the male florets. The perigynia 
are alike, varying in the degree of roughness at the margins. 
264. C. iEthiopica (Sclikuhr); spicis 4-5 cylindricis e 
viridi castaneis, masculis 1-3, fcemineis superioribus 
masculee contiguis, suprema nunc ima basi mascula, in¬ 
ferioribus remotis longe exserte pedunculatis cernuis; 
bracteis inferioribus vaginatis late foliaceis culmo longi¬ 
oribus ; stigmatibus 3 ; perigyniis ellipticis plano-trique¬ 
tris subinflatis rostratis bifidis nervatis pellucide demum 
sanguineo-maculatis pallidis glabris vel superne margi¬ 
nibus subscabris, squama ovata emarginata cuspidata 
medio late viridi nervata lateribus castanea apice ciliata 
longioribus vel brevioribus.—C. iEthiopica, Sc/d. Z. jig. 
83, p. 107 (1801, excl. pi. Betz)-, Boott, Lin. Tr. xx. 
146. C. laevigata, Wahl. Act. 153 ; Willd. 295 ; Smith, 
Eng. Tint. (1804); Sc/d. Nachtr. p. 74 (1806); Smith, 
Eng. FI. 122 (1828); Kunth, 493 ; non Smith, Lin. Tr. 
v. 272 (1799). C. iridifolia, Kunth, 492 (1837). C. Si¬ 
mensis, LLochst. TInio Ltin. 1842, n. 1180; Bichard, 
FI. Abyss, ii. 514. (Tab. CCCXLI.-CCCXLIY.) 
Hab. In Africa. Cape of Good Hope, TZmnberg. 
Caffcrland, Gill. Uitenhage, Zeyher (Herb. Hooker). 
Georgetown, Dr. Alexander Prior. Ruigtevaley, ad flu- 
vium, Drege. In Abyssinia! in pratis humidis montis 
Bachit, supra fines arborum et fruticum, Schimper, 1838; 
et ad montem Roahit, 11,000 ped., Schimper, 1851 
(Herb. Mus. Paris). 
Culmus 2-pedalis, lsevis, apice scabriusculus, basi foliosus; 
pars spicas gerens 7-15 poll, longa. Folia 3-6 lin. lata, cul¬ 
mo longiora, plana, glauco-viridia. Bractece inferiores 4 lin. 
latse, culmo longiores, vel angustiores eo breviores, vaginatse. 
Vaginae 8 lin. ad 3 poll, longse. Pedunculus infimus 2-7 poll, 
longus. Spicce 1-3 poll, longse, 2-4 lin. latse: terminates 1-3 
masculse, vel summa subdimidiatim basi mascula: alise 1-4 
ima basi masculse, infima fceminea: vel inferiores 3-4 foeminese. 
Squamae omnes vel acutse vel truncate vel emarginate, plus 
minus longe cuspidate. Perigynium 2 t a- t a lin. longum, 
T 9 o—1-fV lin. latum, laciniis marginibusque plus minus scabris, 
rarius glabris. Aclienium 1-1-A- lin. longum, -A—a lin. latum, 
ellipticum, basi productum vel obovatum, triquetrum, basi 
styli contorta apiculatum. 
Schkuhr, in his Riedgr. p. 107 (1801), had been misled in refer¬ 
ring his G. JEthiopica, which he received indirectly from Thunberg, 
to the Isle of Bourbon, as in his Nachtr. p. 74 (1806), he says that 
it was from the Cape of Good Hope. Wahlenberg, Act. Holm. 
1803, excluding the native habitat, appears to have first quoted 
G. JEthiopica as a synonym to G. laevigata, Smith, in which he was 
followed by Smith in Eng. Bot. 1804, and by Willdenow in 1805, 
and eventually, though doubtingly, by Schk. in his Nachtr. 1806 ; 
and this error, notwithstanding the observations of Schkuhr, was 
persisted in by Smith, Eng. Flora, iv. 122 (1828), and by Kunth, 
Cyp. (1837). I first met with the plant in Herb. Hooker, where 
specimens from the Cape, collected by Gill and Zeyher, are found, 
and I have since been indebted to Hr. Alexander Prior for speci¬ 
mens he brought from the Cape. To my late friend Dr. Charles 
Lemann, I am indebted for specimens of G. Simensis from the 
Unio ltin., and to M. Spach, for others sent by Schimper as late 
as 1853. C. iridifolia is in Herb. Hooker, and M. Spach has fur¬ 
nished me with a note on the specimen in Herb. Mus. Paris. I 
have no doubt of the specific identity of the three plants, and I 
suspect when C. Borbonica is more known, it will be found inse¬ 
parable, judging from the identity of its perigynium with that of 
the others. The distribution of the male florets is variable. In 
G. Simensis the terminal spike is male or male at base, as in G. 
Borbonica. In G. JEthiopica and G. iridifolia the terminal spikes 
1-3 are male. The bracts in G. Borbonica contrast with those of 
G. JEthiopica, and the leaves are narrower and shorter; but in C. 
Simensis, which has long and broad leaves, the bracts are like 
those of C. Borbonica. 
The specimens figured are Tab. CCCXLI. and CCCXLII. G. 
JEthiopica, from Dr. Alexander Prior; one young, to show the 
foliage. 
Tab. CCCXLIII. and CCCXLIV. are Schimper’s specimens of 
G. Simensis (1853). 
265. C. Boryana (Schkuhr); spica elongata laxa e vi¬ 
ridi sanguineo-ferrerginea; spiculis pluribus cylindricis 
elongatis inaequalibus, omnibus apice masculis, vel sum- 
mis 1—2 masculis, superioribus sessilibus congestis, infe¬ 
rioribus geminatis remotis longe exserte pedunculatis, 
nutantibus, una ex geminis simplici, altera basi spiculis 
1-5 composita; bracteis inferioribus vaginatis foliaceis, 
infima culmum superante; stigmatibus 3; perigyniis 
ovalibus vel lanceolatis plano-triquetris rostratis bicuspi- 
datis nervatis, marginibus superne plus minus scabris, 
pallidis vel sanguineo-tinctis pellucide demum sanguineo- 
maculatis membranaceis, squama lanceolata acuta rarius 
emarginata longe cuspidata latioribus, brevioribus vel 
sequantibus.—C. Boryana, Schk. jig. 191; Kunth, 506; 
Spr. 814. C. subulata, Wahl. Act. 152 (fide Wahl. FI. 
Lap. 250). (Tab. CCCXLV.-CCCXLYII.) 
