162 
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENUS CAREX. 
Achenium l T q lin. longum, lin. latum, triquetrum ; stylo 
valido. 
Yar. /3; spicis masculis 1-3, sqnamis ssepe lanceolatis 
mucronatis, perigyniis saepe scabris. 
Var. y. minor ; spicis 2-3 contiguis, mascula 1 rarius 
2, femineis 1-2 rotundis paucifloris sessilibus evaginatis ; 
bractea amplectente, culmo breviore vel sequante; peri¬ 
gyniis ellipticis vel orbiculatis rostellatis, ore hyalino in- 
tegro vel emarginato nitidis enerviis vel obscure nervatis 
glabris demum aurantiacis vel fuscis coriaceis, squama 
ovata obtusa vel acuta mutica vel rarius mucronata lon- 
gioribus vel aequantibus, foliis angustis. 
Perigynium 1 x 5 0 x 6 0 lin. longum, -ro—fo bn. latum. Ache¬ 
nium 1 T \ T lin. longum, lin. latum. 
Kunth is the only authority who suggests the var. y being a 
form of C. niticla. I cannot distinguish it from the smaller typical 
plant, though it has a wider geographical range, extending to 
Arctic America, where it was found at Bear Lake by Sir John 
Richardson, and in Greenland by Vahl. I have followed Grenier 
and Godron in restoring the name of Allioni to this species. No 
one has noticed the roughness on the perigynium in the typical 
plant. It is but occasional, sometimes a few teeth on the rostrum 
only, but at others observable on the body and margins. Lede- 
bour says of his 0. nitida, which is the var. /3, “ rostro hispidulo.” 
I believe in all the forms the orifice of the perigynium is entire, 
but, from its scarious texture, it is easily ruptured on the protru¬ 
sion of the style and stigmata. The female squamae are commonly 
obtuse and muticous, but they vary to a lanceolate acute form, 
with the middle nerve excurrent. The habit is the same in all, 
viz. the stoloniferous root; the shining coriaceous perigynium, 
with its hyaline orifice; the cleft cimplectent, or, in the occasional 
third spiculse of the type and var. fi, the vaginate bract; the leaves 
similar in texture and form, varying in width, sometimes as narrow 
in the typical plant as in the var. y. 
The specimens figured are,— 
Tab. D XXXIII. “ 0. nitida .” From Germany. 
Tab. DXXXIV. /3. “ C. conglobata.” From Altai. 
Tab. DXXXV. y. “ C. supina.” The details (except one 
from Greenland) from Germany. 
n. 1. Ikkatak Bay, Horneman. 
n. 2. Bear Lake, North America, 
n. 3. Greenland, 
n. 4. Berlin. 
[389. C. vesicaria. 
Tab. DXXXVI. Specimen from Ohio, Sullivant. 
Tab. DXXXVII. var. /3. Sat urn a Island, N.W. America, Dr. 
Lyall. 
No observations of Dr. Boott’s accompany either Plate.— 
J. i>. AT.] 
390. C. binervis (Smith) ; spica elongata demum 
fusco-sanguinea, e spiculis 4 rarius 3-5 vel pluribus ob- 
longis vel cylindricis densifloris, terminali mascula, reli- 
quis femineis, superioribus rarius apice masculis approxi- 
matis, inferioribus remotis longe exserte pedunculatis 
saepe nutantibus, infima vel inferioribus subinde basi 
compositis ; bracteis semper culmo brevioribus, inferiori¬ 
bus longe vaginalis ; stigmatibus 3 ; perigyniis late ova- 
libus vel ellipticis inaequaliter obtuse triquetris late brevi 
rostratis bifurcatis, superne ad margines saepe scabris, 
viridibus demum plus minus fusco-sanguineis lucidis 
leviter vel obscure nervatis, nervis marginalibus viridibus 
(1 antice visis ) magis prominentibus, achenium laxe ves- 
tientibus, squama ovata aequilata obtusa vel acuta apice 
ciliata brevi cuspidata fusco-sanguinea medio viricli ner- 
vata longioribus.—C. binervis, Smith, Linn. Trans, v. 
268 • Eng. Lot. 1 .1235 ; Eng. FI. iv. 110 ; Willd. 271; 
SchJc.f. 160 ; Koch, 885 ; Beich. 24, t. 255 ; Andersson, 
22, t. 8 , f. 98; Lange, 124; Gren. et Godron, 426; 
Bromfield, 565 {non Wahl., Kunth, Dewey). C. distans, 
Light. C. distans, /3. Iiampeana, Beich. 23, t. 254. 
C. distans, c, Bentham, 566. (Tab. DXXXVIIL- 
DXXXIX.) 
Hab. In Europa et Asia, in ericetis.—Norway to 
Germany. Mount Taurus, Kotschy {Herb. Bentham). 
Culmus 1-4-pedalis, gracilis vel validus, rigidus, obtusan- 
gulus, lsevis, apice angulis acutis scabris; pars spicas gerens 
4-15 poll, longa. Folia 1-3 lin. lata, culmo breviora, rigida, 
carinata, marginibus revolutis, glaucescentia. Bractea infe- 
riores spicis suis lougiores, superiores setacese, ssepe obsolete. 
Vagina infima quandoque 2\ poll, longa. Pedunculi fili- 
formes, scabri, semper vaginis saepe duplo longiores. Spica 
mascula 9-18 lin. longa, 1-2 lin. lata, saepe sessilis, rarissime 
2 vel apice feminea. Squamae arete imbricatae, obtusae, ciliatae, 
margine albidae, nervo in superioribus saepe extra producto. 
Spicce feminece 2-8, saepius 4 vel 3-5, summa vel superiores 
saepe abbreviate; masculce contiguae sessiles, vel omnes vagi¬ 
nate, inferiores remote, longe exserte pedunculate nutantes ; 
infima (subinde 9 poll, remota) vel bine inferiores, basi spi¬ 
culis 1-2 brevibus (bractea squameformi cuspidata suffultis, 
e perigynii apice vel latere progredientibus) composite, ob- 
longe, minores 4-8 lin. longe, 2'| lin. late, vel cylindrice 
18-20 lin. longe, 4 lin. late. Perigynium late ovale, l|-2 
lin. longum, lin. latum ; vel ellipticum, 24- lin. longum, 
-5^- lin. latum; antice nervis marginalibus (intra margines 
sitis) viridibus validioribus, aliter utrinque irregulariter leviter 
nervatis, vel nervis e basi sursum plus minus evanidis vel ob¬ 
solete, lucidum, quasi vervice rubro-sanguinea hie illic lini- 
tum. Achenium 1-lro lin. longum, fa —to hn. latum, ovale 
vel obovatum, olivaceum ; basi styli equali. 
I am indebted to Professor Dickie for the specimens of this 
plant from Aberdeen, which are here figured. He remarks that 
it is “ small in open moors, and from one to four feet in moist shady 
woods.” 
I find in 75 specimens— 
1 with 2 spikes. 68 with 1 male. In 22, lower spikes 
16 „ 3 3 „ 2 compound. 
38 „ 4 3 ter. apice feminea. 
14 „ 5 1 ter. versus apicem. 
4 „ 6 
2 „ 8 
Smith described this species in 1800, from specimens which he 
had received from Aberdeen,—Lightfoot having previously con¬ 
sidered it to be the C. distans, L., to which Bentham has again 
referred it as a variety, associating other species with it which I 
think are different from both, especially C. depauperata, Good. 
Smith insists principally upon the intramarginal nerves observ¬ 
able on the anterior surface,—a character common to C. distans; 
the absence of any other nerves ; the cylindric, often compound 
spikes; and the vagina being shorter than the peduncles. I con¬ 
fess that, on a reference to the more essential characters of the 
two plants, the inference is that they are mere variations of one 
species. C. binervis is found often on open moors, and C. distans 
in marshes near the sea. 
A C. distanti differ! spica rubro-sanguinea; spiculis pluri¬ 
bus, femineis longioribus latioribus, longe exserte pedunculatis, 
smpe compositis nutantibus; perigyniis rubro-sanguineis, lu¬ 
cidis, magis ventricosis, obscure nervatis ; squamis ciliatis. 
