S. MUCRONaTUS, L. Resembling the last, 1--3 high; spikelets numerous in a dense cl.u.s.ter, oblong-ovate, 6--8" long or less; scales ovate, mucronate, firm, scarcely at all scarious; _style 3-cleft_; achene smaller, broadly obovate.--In a single locality in Delaware Co., Penn.; probably introduced from S. Europe.

[+][+] _Culm triangular, tall and stout, from slender running rootstocks; spikelets many-flowered, loosely umbellate or corymbed, involucellate-bracted._

8. S. Canbyi, Gray. Culm (3--5 high) 3-angled, usually sharply so above, obtusely below, the sheath at base extended into a long slender triangular and channelled leaf (2--4 long); involucral leaf similar (4--8' long), continuing the culm; spikelets oblong (4--6" long), single or sometimes proliferously 2 or 3 together, nodding on the apex of the 5--9 long filiform and flattened peduncles or rays of the dichotomous umbel-like corymb, or the central one nearly sessile; scales loosely imbricated, oblong-ovate, acute, pale, thin and scarious, with a greenish nerved back; bristles 6, firm, furnished above with spreading hairs rather than barbs, equalling the slender abrupt beak of the obovate-triangular shining achene (1" long).--In a pond near Salisbury, Md.

[+][+][+] _Culm terete, very tall and stout, from a deep running rootstock, leafless or very nearly so; spikelets numerous, cl.u.s.tered in a one-sided compound umbel-like panicle longer than the involucral leaf; involucellate bracts small, scale-like and rusty-scarious; scales of the spikelets rusty or chestnut-brown, scarious, the midrib extended into a mucronate point._

9. S. lacustris, L. (GREAT BULRUSH.) Culm 3--9 high, --1' thick at base; spikelets ovate-oblong (3--4" long); scales mostly a little downy on the back and ciliate; style 2-cleft; achene pale and dull, obovate with a narrowed base, plano-convex, mucronate-pointed, usually overtopped by the 4--6 slender downwardly barbed bristles. (S. validus, _Vahl._)--Common everywhere in still fresh water. (Eu., Asia, etc.)

[+][+][+][+] _Culms slender from an annual root, terete, plano-convex or obtusely triangular, naked; the sheaths rarely bearing a short leaf; spikelets few or several in a sessile cl.u.s.ter, sometimes solitary, much overtopped by the involucral leaf; bristles often few or wanting._

10. S. debilis, Pursh. (Pl. 3, fig. 1--5.) _Culms obtusely triangular_, with somewhat hollowed sides, 1--2 high, yellowish-green, shining; spikelets 3--12, capitate, ovate-oblong, obtuse (3--4" long), chestnut-brown; involucral leaf often horizontal at maturity; scales roundish; stamens 3; style 2--3-cleft; _bristles 6, stout_, downwardly barbed, equalling or two surpa.s.sing the obovate _turgidly plano-convex_ (or bluntly 3-sided) abruptly mucronate-pointed _smoothish_ achene.--Swamps, Ma.s.s. to S. C., Minn. and Neb. Aug., Sept.

11. S. Smithii, Gray. _Culms terete_, slender, 3--12' high, often leaf-bearing from the upper sheath, dull green as are the 1--3 oblong-ovate acute spikelets; involucral leaf always erect; scales oblong-oval; style 2-cleft; _bristles 1 or 2 minute rudiments or none_; achene _somewhat lenticular, smooth_, deciduous with the scales.--Wet sh.o.r.es, Delaware Bay to L. Ontario, Mich., N. Ind., and Ill. July.

12. S. supnus, L., var. Hallii, Gray. _Culms filiform_, 5--12' high; upper sheath rarely distinctly leaf-bearing; spikelets 1--7 in a sessile or sometimes geminately proliferous cl.u.s.ter, ovate-oblong becoming cylindrical, greenish; scales ovate, strongly keeled, mucronate-pointed; stamens 2 or 3; style 2-cleft; _bristles none; achene obovate-orbicular_, mucronate, plano-convex, _strongly wrinkled transversely_.--Wet sh.o.r.es, Ill. to Tex.; also found in E. Ma.s.s.

(_Hitchings_). (Eu.)

[*][*][*] _Spikelets in simple or mostly compound umbellate or cymose-panicled cl.u.s.ters, many-flowered, terete; involucre of mostly several flat leaves; culm tall, from tufted or running rootstocks, triangular, leafy, sedge-like; leaves rough on the margin; style mostly 3-cleft._

[+] _Spikelets large (6--15" long); midrib of the scales extended beyond the mostly lacerate or two-cleft apex into a distinct awn._

13. S. maritimus, L. (SEA CLUB-RUSH.) Leaves flat, linear, as long as the stout culm (1--3 high), those of the involucre 1--4, very unequal; spikelets few--several in a sessile cl.u.s.ter, and often also with 1--4 unequal rays bearing 1--7 ovate or oblong-cylindrical (rusty-brown) spikelets; awns of the scales soon recurved; _achene obovate-orbicular, compressed, flat on one side, convex or obtuse-angled on the other, minutely pointed, shining, shorter than the_ 1--6 unequal and deciduous (sometimes obsolete) _bristles_.--Saline localities, on the coast from N. Scotia to Fla., and in the interior across the continent.

(Eu.)--Var. MACROSTaCHYOS, Michx.; larger, with very thick oblong-cylindrical heads (1--1' long), and longer involucral leaf (often 1 long).

14. S. fluviatilis, Gray. (RIVER C.) Culm very stout, 3--5 high; leaves flat, broadly linear (' wide or more), tapering gradually to a point, the upper and those of the very long involucre very much exceeding the _compound umbel; rays 5--9, elongated, recurved-spreading_, each bearing 1--5 ovate or oblong-cylindrical acute paler heads; scales less lacerate and awns less recurved; _achene obovate, sharply and exactly triangular, conspicuously pointed, opaque_, scarcely equalling the 6 rigid bristles.--Borders of lakes and large streams, W. Vt. to Conn. and Penn., west to Minn. and Iowa.

[+][+] _Spikelets very numerous, small (1--3" long); scales mucronate-pointed or blunt; umbel-like cymose panicle irregular, compound or decompound; culm 2--5 high, unusually leafy; leaves broadly linear, green and rather soft; bristles very slender, often more or less tortuous and naked below._

15. S. sylvaticus, L. _Spikelets lead-colored, cl.u.s.tered 3--10 together at the end of the mostly slender ultimate divisions_ of the open decompound panicle, ovoid or lance-ovate, 2" long; scales bluntish; bristles 6, downwardly barbed throughout, rather exceeding the triangular short-pointed achene; style 3-cleft.--Along brooks, E. Ma.s.s.

to N. Y.; rare.

Var. digynus, Boeckl. Style 2-cleft and the achene not at all angled on the back; stamens 2, and bristles 4. (S. microcarpus, _Presl._)--N. Scotia and N. Eng. to Minn., and westward.

16. S. atrvirens, Muhl. Leaves somewhat more rigid; _spikelets dull greenish-brown, densely conglomerate (10--30 together) into close heads_, these also usually densely cl.u.s.tered in a less compound panicle; scales pointed; _bristles_ spa.r.s.ely and strongly _downwardly barbed above the middle, naked below_, nearly straight, as long as the conspicuously pointed and obovate-oblong triangular achene.--Wet meadows and bogs, N. Scotia and N. Eng., west to Minn., Kan., and the Pacific.

17. S. polyphllus, Vahl. Culm usually more leafy; _spikelets yellow-brown, ovate_, becoming cylindrical, _cl.u.s.tered 3--8 together in small heads on_ the short ultimate divisions of the _open decompound umbel_; scales mucronate; _bristles 6, usually twice bent, soft-barbed toward the summit only_, about twice the length of the achene.--Swamps and borders of ponds, western N. Eng to N. C., west to Minn, and Ark.

9. ERIoPHORUM, L. COTTON-GRa.s.s. (Pl. 3.)

Bristles naked, usually very numerous, often silky and becoming greatly elongated. Otherwise as in Scirpus.--Spikelets single or cl.u.s.tered or umbellate, usually involucrate with erect scale-like bracts, upon a leafy or naked stem; scales membranaceous, 1--3-nerved. Style very slender and elongated, 3-cleft. Achene acutely triangular. (Name composed of ?????, _wool_ or _cotton_, and f????, _bearing_.)

[*] _Bristles 6, rust-colored, becoming tortuous and entangled; culm very leafy, bearing numerous spikelets in an involucrate decompound cymose-panicled umbel._

1. E. lineatum, Benth. & Hook. Culm triangular, leafy (1--3 high); leaves linear, flat, rather broad, rough on the margins; umbels terminal and sometimes axillary, loose, drooping, the terminal with a 1--3-leaved _involucre much shorter than the long slender rays_; spikelets oblong, becoming cylindrical (2--4" long), on thread-like drooping pedicels; _bristles at maturity scarcely exceeding the_ ovate green-keeled _pointed scales_; achene sharp-pointed. (Scirpus lineatus, _Michx._)--Low grounds, western N. Eng. to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.

2. E. cypernum, L. (Pl. 3, fig. 6--10, under Scirpus.) (WOOL-GRa.s.s.) Culm nearly terete (2--5 high); leaves narrowly linear, long, rigid, those of the _involucre 3--5, longer than the umbel_, the rays at length drooping; spikelets exceedingly numerous, ovate, cl.u.s.tered, or the lateral pedicelled, woolly at maturity (1--3" long); the rust-colored _bristles much longer than the pointless scales_; achene short-pointed.

(Scirpus Eriophorum, _Michx._)--Wet meadows and swamps, Newf. to Fla., west to Minn. and Iowa. Exceedingly variable in the character and size of the umbel, the typical form having the spikelets mostly cl.u.s.tered in small heads.--Var. LaXUM has the spikelets scattered, the lateral long-pedicelled.

[*][*] _Bristles 6, crisped, white; spikelet single, small; involucre of one short bract._

3. E. alpnum, L. (Pl. 3, fig. 1--6.) Culms slender, many in a row from a running rootstock (6--10' high), scabrous, naked; sheaths at the base awl-tipped.--Cold bogs, Lab. to N. Eng., west to Minn. June. (Eu.)

[*][*][*] _Bristles very numerous, not crisped, forming dense cottony heads in fruit._

[+] _Culm bearing a single spikelet; involucre none._

4. E. v.a.g.i.n.atum, L. Culms in close tufts (1 high), leafy only at the base, above with 2 inflated leafless sheaths; root-leaves long and thread-form, triangular-channelled; scales of the ovate spikelet long-pointed, lead-color at maturity.--Cold and high peat-bogs, N. Eng.

to Penn., Mich., Minn., and northward. May, June. (Eu.)

[+][+] _Culm leafy, bearing several umbellate-cl.u.s.tered heads, involucrate._

5. E. Virginic.u.m, L. Culm rigid (2--4 high); leaves very narrowly linear, elongated, flat; _spikelets nearly sessile, crowded in a dense cl.u.s.ter or head; wool rusty or copper-color_, only thrice the length of the scale; stamen 1.--Bogs and low meadows, Newf. to Fla., west to Minn.

and Neb. July, Aug.--Var. aLb.u.m, Gray, has the wool white. N. New York.

6. E. polystachyon, L. Culm rigid (1--2 high), obscurely triangular; _leaves linear, flat, or barely channelled below_, triangular at the point; _involucre 2--3-leaved_; spikelets several (4--12), on smooth nodding peduncles, some of them elongated in fruit; achene obovate; _wool white_, very straight (1' long or more).--Bogs, Newf. to Ga., Minn., and westward. June, July. (Eu.)--Var. LATIFLIUM, Gray; peduncles rough; leaves sometimes broader and flatter.

7. E. gracile, Koch. Culm slender (1--2 high), rather triangular; _leaves slender, channelled-triangular_, rough on the angles; _involucre short and scale-like, mostly 1-leaved_; peduncles rough or roughish-p.u.b.escent; spikelets 3--7, small, when mature the copious white wool 6--9" long; achene elliptical-linear.--Cold bogs, Newf. to N. J., west to Minn. and Mo. Scales in our plant mostly light chestnut and about 3-nerved. June--Aug. (Eu.)

10. FUIReNA, Rottboell. UMBRELLA-GRa.s.s. (Pl. 2.)

Spikelets many-flowered, terete, cl.u.s.tered or solitary, axillary and terminal. Scales imbricated in many ranks, awned below the apex, all floriferous. Perianth of 3 ovate or heart-shaped petaloid scales, mostly on claws, and usually with as many alternating small bristles. Stamens 3. Style 3-cleft. Achene triangular, pointed with the persistent base of the style. Culms from a perennial root, obtusely triangular. (Named for _G. Fuiren_, a Danish botanist.)

1. F. squarrsa, Michx., var. hispida, Chapm. (Pl. 2, fig. 1--7.) Stem (1--3 high) leafy; leaves and sheaths usually densely hairy; spikelets ovoid-oblong (4--6" long), cl.u.s.tered in heads, bristly with the spreading awns of the scales; perianth-scales rhombic or deltoid-ovate, with a short thick awn or point, the interposed mostly barbed bristles shorter than the achene.--Sandy wet places, N. J. to Fla., west to Ky.

and Tex.

Var. pumila, Torr. Usually low (1--6' high or more), with 1--6 spikelets; perianth-scales narrowly to broadly oblong or ovate, long-stipitate and attenuate to a long awn; barbed bristles usually exceeding the achene.--Ma.s.s. to N. J., Fla., and La.; Mich. The commonest form.

11. HEMICaRPHA, Nees. (Pl. 2.)

Spikelet, flowers, etc., as in Scirpus, except that there is a minute translucent scale (readily overlooked) between the flower and the axis of the spikelet. Stamen only one. Style 2-cleft. Bristles or other perianth none. (Name from ??, _half_, and ???f??, _straw_ or _chaff_, in allusion to the single inner scalelet.)

1. H. subsquarrsa, Nees. Dwarf or minute annual (1--5' high); involucre 1-leaved, as if a continuation of the bristle-like culm, and usually with another minute leaf; spikelets 2--3 (barely 2" long); scales brown, tipped with a short recurved point.--Sandy borders of ponds and rivers, N. Eng. to Fla., west to the Pacific.

12. LIPOCaRPHA, R. Br. (Pl. 2.)

Spikelets terete, many-flowered, in a terminal close cl.u.s.ter involucrate by leafy bracts. Scales spatulate, regularly imbricated all round in many ranks, awnless, deciduous, a few of the lowest empty. Inner scales (bractlets) 2 to each flower, thin, one between the scale of the spikelet and the flower, one between the latter and the axis of the spikelet. Bristles or other perianth none. Stamens 1 or 2. Style 2--3-cleft. Achene flattish or triangular, naked at the tip.--Culms leafy at base. (Name formed of ??p??, _fat_, and ???f??, _chaff_, from the thickness of the inner scales of some species.)

1. L. maculata, Torr. Annual; culm (4--8' high) much longer than the linear concave leaves; spikelets (1--2" long) green and dark-spotted; inner scales delicate; stamen one; achene oblong with a contracted base.--Springy or miry places, Va. to Fla.; near Philadelphia, probably adventive.

13. RHYNCHoSPORA, Vahl. BEAK-RUSH. (Pl. 4.)

Spikelets panicled or variously cl.u.s.tered, ovate, globular, or spindle-shaped, terete, or sometimes flattish; but the scales open or barely concave (not boat-shaped nor keeled); the lower commonly loosely imbricated and empty, the uppermost often subtending imperfect flowers.

Perianth in the form of bristles (mostly 6). Stamens mostly 3. Achene lenticular, globular, or flat, crowned with a conspicuous tubercle or beak consisting of the persistent indurated base or even of the greater part of the style.--Chiefly perennials, with more or less triangular and leafy culms; the spikelets in terminal and axillary cl.u.s.ters; flowering in summer. (Name composed of ??????, _a snout_, and sp???, _a seed_, from the beaked achene.)