Holm, The genus Carex in North-West America. 
21 
on the coast and Islands, besides that it has been found at a few 
stations in Yukon, Washington and Oregon. In several respects 
this species is suggestive ot C. spedahilis, from which it differs 
by its generally larger size, taller culms and longer leaves, by the 
aristate scales and many-nerved perigynia with the orifice entire; 
furthermore the spikes are darker and drooping. The species is 
very variable in regard to the number of the spikes, the shape of 
the scales and the relative size of the perigynia; the variety 
emarginata is thus characteristic by its emarginate scales with the 
awn four times as long as the body, while in the var. macro- 
chlaena the perigynia have attained a considerable size, being 
much longer than the scales. 
A very characteristic, phyllopodic species has been found on 
St. Paul Island and the Popoff Islands, which we have called C. 
nesoph'üa. This plant resembles habitally certain foims of C. 
saVina. but the structure of the perigynium is more like that of 
C. macrochaeta; the squamae are broadly elliptic and acute, purplish 
to almost black, but neither mucronate or aristate. The perigynium 
is pale green with a purplish, entire or obliquely cut beak. On 
account of the structure of the perig^mium we have placed the 
species next to C. macrocliaeta, but habitally these two species are 
very different, different to the same extent as the ph^dlopodic 
C. microchaeta from the aphyllopodic C. spectahilis. Another very 
distinct north-western type is C. aperta, one of the most abundant 
Carices along the Columbia River in Washington; it has, further¬ 
more been collected in British Columbia, Idaho and Oregon, but 
not in Alaska. The species is somewhat anomalous within the 
grex since the beak of the perigynium is bidentate, but otherwise 
we have not been able to detect other characters by which to 
separate it from the Aeorastachgae. 
Rare in Alaska and British Columbia, but scattered throughout 
the mountains of Washington, Oregon and California, we ■ find 
Dewey’s unpublished C. magnifica. which, as stated above, was 
formerly mistaken for C. SitcJiensis. The very long and dark, 
almost sessile and contiguous spikes give it a very peculiar aspect; 
it has two allies in California: C. Schottii and lacunarum. Among 
the last members of the grex, which we have enumerated from 
this region, C. stygia shows a wide distribution along the Alaskan 
coast and on the islands, where it seems to be much more frequent ' 
than in arctic Europe. The common, arctic species C. rariflora 
is, on the other hand, rare in our region, being confined to Port 
Clarence and St. Lawrence island. C. limosa does not occur in 
Alaska, but in some few places in the other States; C. Magellcmica, 
on the other hand, we have seen from Yes Bay (Alaska) besides 
from a few stations in Yukon, British Columbia and Washington. 
In regard to C. stijgia we have examined a very large number of 
specimens, which showed constantly the specific characters by which 
it is distinguished from the other members of this group, hence 
we prefer to enumerate it as a species instead of as a variety of 
rariflora, The geographical distribution of C. stijgia seems, also, 
to speak in favor of this supposition, when we remember for in- 
stance the abundant occurrence of C. rariflora throughout the 
