Part 190 (1/2)

[++][++] _Perigynium firm, prominently many-nerved._

53. C. venusta, Dewey, var. mnor, Boeckl. Slender but strict, 1--2 high; leaves narrow and strict, about as long as the culm; spikes 1--2'

long, scattered, the upper usually ascending, the terminal one sometimes staminate at top; perigynium ascending, the very short and stout beak prominently toothed, thrice longer than the rusty narrow scale. (C.

glabra, _Boott_.)--Sphagnous swamps, Oneida Co., N. Y., N. J., and southward; local.

[*] 4.--[+] 5. _Gracillimae._

[++] _Perigynium small, scarcely turgid._

54. C. aestivalis, M. A. Curtis. Slender but erect, 1--1 high; leaves very narrow, flat, shorter than the culm, the sheaths p.u.b.escent; spikes 3--4, erect or spreading, 1--2' long and very loosely flowered, all but the lowest short-stalked; perigynium very small, ovate, scarcely pointed and the orifice entire, few-nerved, about twice longer than the obtuse scale.--Saddle Mountain, W. Ma.s.s., and southward in the mountains to N. C.; rare.

55. C. gracillima, Schwein. Tall and slender, sometimes diffuse, 1--3 high; leaves broad and flat (the radical about 3” wide), very dark and bright green; spikes 3--4, scattered, the terminal rarely staminate, densely flowered except at base, peduncled and drooping, green; perigynium ovate, thin and slightly swollen, nerved, obtuse, orifice entire, twice longer than the very obtuse scale.--Woodlands and low meadows, throughout; common.--In poorer soil and sunny places, it runs into var. HuMILIS, Bailey, and is then smaller, has much narrower leaves and very small erect spikes (2--12-flowered), and mostly smaller perigynia.

C. GRACiLLIMA HIRSuTA, Bailey. In habit like var. humilis; spikes tawny; perigynium like that of C. triceps, var. hirsuta; plant smooth, or very minutely p.u.b.escent under a strong lens.--Philipstown, N. Y.

(_Barratt_).

C. GRACiLLIMA p.u.b.eSCENS, Bailey. Tall and erect; leaves narrower than in the last, usually slightly hairy; spikes slender, erect or slightly spreading, often staminate at top; perigynium exactly intermediate between the two species, ovate, obscurely nerved, spa.r.s.ely hairy, beaked, about the length of the ovate ciliate rough-awned scale. (C.

Sullivantii, _Boott_.)--Columbus, Ohio (_Sullivant_); Yonkers, N. Y.

(_E. C. Howe_); Stanton, Del. (_Commons_).

[++][++] _Perigynium large, prominently inflated_.

56. C. formsa, Dewey. Slender, erect, 1--2 high; leaves flat, mostly rather broad, those of the culm very short; spikes 3--5, scattered, oblong or short-cylindrical (1' long or less), compact, all flexuose or drooping; perigynium ovate, puncticulate, obscurely nerved, short-beaked with a slightly notched orifice, all but the lowest one or two twice longer than the blunt or cuspidate scale.--Woods and copses, Vt. to Mich.; local.

57. C. Davisii, Schwein. & Torr. Always taller; spikes heavier; perigynium more inflated, strongly nerved and prominently toothed, no longer or shorter than the conspicuously awned and spreading scale.--Wet meadows, W. Ma.s.s. to S. Minn., and southward; rare east and northward.

[*] 4.--[+] 6. _Griseae_.

58. C. grisea, Wahl. Stout, 1--2 high; leaves broad (2--3”) and slightly glaucous; bracts broad and leaf-like, diverging, very much exceeding the culm; staminate spike small and sessile; pistillate spikes 3--4, short (1' long or less), the highest two usually contiguous to the staminate spike and sessile, the others somewhat remote and peduncled, all erect, compact; perigynium oblong, pointless, marked with impressed nerves, turgid and cylindric, all but the lowest longer than the narrow, cuspidate or blunt, nerved scale.--Moist grounds, throughout, except along our northern borders; common.--Var. ANGUSTIFLIA, Boott. Much more slender; leaves scarcely half so wide, the bracts, especially, much narrower and shorter and more erect; spikes slender, perigynium scarcely inflated, triangular-oblong, bearing a sharp beak-like point, 2-ranked; scale nerveless, long-awned and spreading. N. J. to S. Ohio, and southward; common.--Var. GLOBSA, Bailey. Low, 3--12' high, often spreading; spikes few-flowered, often with but 2 or 3 perigynia; perigynium short, inflated, very blunt, nearly globose or obovate; scale short, not prominently cuspidate or the upper ones wholly blunt. Mo., Kan., and southward.

Var. (?) rigida, Bailey. Rigid; leaves rather narrow, long and erect; staminate spike prominently peduncled; pistillate spikes scattered, all more or less stalked, conspicuously 2 ranked; perigynium triangular-oblong, hard, longer than the cuspidate ascending scale.--Sellersville, Penn., and Del.

59. C. glaucodea, Tuckerm. Lax or somewhat strict (6--18' high), densely glaucous; leaves flat, variable in width; spikes as in n. 58; perigynium firm, not inflated, prominently impressed-nerved, glaucous, longer than the short-cuspidate or blunt thin and appressed scale. (C. flaccosperma, last ed.)--Meadows and swamps, Ma.s.s. to S. Ill., and southward; local.

[*] 5. SPIROSTaCHYae.--[+] 1. _Granulares_.

60. C. granularis, Muhl. Erect or spreading, 8'--2 high, somewhat glaucous; leaves flat, various; bracts broad and long, much exceeding the culm; spikes 3--4, scattered, all but the upper peduncled, erect or ascending, compact, short-oblong to cylindric, never exceeding 1' in length; staminate spike small and usually sessile; perigynium ovoid, very strongly nerved, the nearly entire short beak usually bent; scale thin and pointed, about the length of the perigynium.--Moist gra.s.sy places; common.--Var. HALEaNA, Porter. Habitually lower and more slender; radical leaves very broad (3--4”) and more glaucous; pistillate spikes ' long or less, thinner; perigynium a half smaller, narrower. Wisc. to Va.; infrequent.

61. C. Crawei, Dewey. Low, strict, stoloniferous (4--12' high); leaves narrow; bracts scarcely exceeding the culm; spikes 2--4, scattered, the lowest radical or nearly so, short-peduncled or the upper sessile, erect, compact, 9” long or less; staminate spike generally peduncled; perigynium ovate, usually resinous dotted, obscurely or few-nerved, very short-pointed, longer than the obtuse or short-pointed scale.--Moist places, N. Y. to Ill. and Minn.; local, especially eastward.

[*] 5.--[+] 2. _Extensae_.

C. EXTeNSA, Gooden. Slender but strict, 1--2 high; leaves involute; spikes about 3, the lowest remote and short-peduncled, the remainder approximate and sessile, short (about ' long) and compact; perigynium ovate, very strongly nerved, ascending, the short stout beak sharply toothed, longer than the blunt brown-edged scale.--Long Island and Coney Island, N. Y.; Norfolk, Va., _McMinn._ (Nat. from Eu.)

62. C. flava, L. Very slender but strict and stiff, 1--2 high, yellowish throughout; leaves flat but narrow, mostly shorter than the culm; staminate spike sessile or nearly so, usually oblique; pistillate spikes 2--4, all contiguous or rarely the lowest one remote, all but the lowest sessile, short-oblong or globular, densely flowered, the lowest subtended by a long divaricate bract; perigynium ovate, produced into a deflexed beak as long as the body, strongly nerved, thrice longer than the blunt scale.--Swales and wet meadows, N. Eng. to L. Superior; rare westward. (Eu.)--Var. GRaMINIS, Bailey. Smaller and green, 6--12' high; leaves mostly longer than the culm; bracts erect; perigynium straight or nearly so, the beak often rough. Gra.s.sy places, probably common and generally distributed.

Var. viridula, Bailey. Small and slender, very strict, green or greenish-white; leaves narrow, equalling or exceeding the culm; bracts long and strictly erect, spikes very small or sometimes becoming cylindric, more closely aggregated; perigynium conspicuously smaller, the beak very short and straight. (C. deri, last ed.)--Cold bogs, N.

Eng. to Penn., and northwestward; local.