[++] _Stigmas 2; scales not conspicuously acute, or if so, divaricate._

[=] _Spikes erect, or rarely spreading in n. 34._

34. C. stricta, Lam. Tall and slender but erect, 2--4 high, generally in dense clumps when old, or rarely in small tufts; culm sharp, rough above; leaves long and narrow, rough on the edges, the lowest sheaths usually becoming prominently fibrillose; 1 or 2 lowest bracts leafy and equalling the culm; spikes 3--5, variable in size and shape, scattered, the lowest usually more or less peduncled and clavate and the others sessile, erect or spreading, oblong or cylindric (--2' long and 2--3"

broad), all compactly flowered above but often attenuate at base (or rarely alternate-flowered throughout), the upper mostly staminate at top, all greenish-purple or pallid; perigynium ovate and small, tawny, mostly lightly few-nerved and somewhat granular, the beak very short and commonly entire; scale obtuse to nearly acute, about equalling the perigynium or a little shorter.--Swales, throughout; abundant and variable.

Var. angustata. Stricter; spikes longer and narrower (3--4' long about 1" broad), never clavate, more approximate and always erect, the staminate portion usually much longer (often 1--2'), rust-colored; scales narrower and sharper, mostly longer than the perigynium. (C.

angustata, _Boott_, in part.)--Same range as the type, but less common.

Var. decra, Bailey. Usually smaller; basal sheaths rarely fibrillose; spikes shorter (seldom over 1' long), sessile or very nearly so, rarely attenuate at base, spreading, the terminal staminate flowers few, rust-colored; bracts more spreading; scales very sharp and spreading, longer than the perigynium. (C. aperta, _Man._)--N. Eng. to Wisc.; rather rare.

C. STRiCTA FILIFoRMIS. Leaves and culms very slender; spikes short (1'

long or less), sessile and compact, the upper 1 or 2 scarcely bracted, pallid; perigynium small, smooth.--Keweenaw Co., Mich. (_Farwell_.) Exactly intermediate between the two species.

35. C. aquatilis, Wahl. Large and stout, glaucous, 2--4 high; culm very obtuse and smooth; leaves exceedingly long, broader than in the last, the bracts broad and prolonged far beyond the culm; spikes 3--5, 1--2'

long, very compact or the lowest sometimes attenuate below, erect, thick (3" broad or less); perigynium round-ovate or broadly elliptic, nerveless, greenish, imbricated; scale obtuse and much shorter and narrower than the perigynium.--Swamps and lake-margins, N. Eng. to Minn.; not common. (Eu.)

36. C. lenticularis, Michx. Rather slender but erect, pale throughout, 1--2 high; culm sharp, usually slightly rough above; leaves very narrow, numerous, much surpa.s.sing the culm; spikes 3--6, more or less aggregated or the lowest remote, the terminal androgynous or staminate, mostly sessile, erect; perigynium ovate, minutely granular, brown-nerved, the tip empty and entire; scale pale and obtuse, about the length of the perigynium.--Gravelly borders of ponds and lakes, northern N. Eng. to Minn.; mostly local.

[=][=] _Spikes widely spreading or drooping._

37. C. torta, Boott. Slender but erect, 1--2 high, in clumps, with exceedingly tough and cord-like roots; culm rather sharp, smooth or roughish above; leaves flat and rather soft, those of the culm very short; spikes 3--5, mostly somewhat approximate or the lower remote, the upper sessile and ascending but the others drooping, long and slender (often 3' long, 2" broad or less); perigynium lance-ovate, thin and green, nerveless, the slim upper half empty and more or less tortuous, the beak entire or erose; scale purple-margined and very obtuse, shorter than the perigynium.--Cold banks and swamps, Vt. to N. C.; infrequent.

[++][++] _Stigmas 2; scales long-acute and ascending._

38. C. salna, Wahl., var. cuspidata, Wahl. Rather stout, 1--2 high; culm rather sharp, smooth; leaves narrow but flat; spikes 2--4, somewhat approximate, the lowest 1 or 2 very short-stalked, erect, short (1' or less) and rather thick, the lower subtended by leaf-like bracts 3--4'

long; perigynium elliptic, somewhat granular, marked with 2 or 3 nerves or nerveless, the minute beak entire; scale brown-margined, produced into a lighter and rough awn much exceeding the perigynium. (C. salina, _Man._)--Salt marshes, Ma.s.s., and along the coast northward; rare in the United States. (Eu.) Anomalous forms, which appear to be hybrids, have been separated as

C. STRiCTA SALNA, Bailey. Spikes thinner and more scattered, more inclined to be peduncled; scales blunt or short-awned, little exceeding the perigynium.--Near Boston, Ma.s.s., _W. Boott, Morong_.

[++][++][++] _Stigmas 3._

39. C. prasna, Wahl. Slender, somewhat flexuose, 1--2 high; culm rather sharp, smooth; leaves very narrow, soft and flat, rough; spikes 2--3, peduncled and spreading or drooping, somewhat approximate, green, 1--2' long, narrow and loosely flowered; perigynium pale, narrowly triangular-ovate, thin, nearly nerveless, produced into a short but slender entire or minutely toothed beak; scale very thin and acute, nearly colorless, shorter than the perigynium. (C. miliacea, _Muhl._)--Meadows and bogs, Vt. to Mich., and southward; infrequent.

[*] 3.--[+] 4. _Cryptocarpae._

40. C. maritima, O. F. Mueller. Mostly stout, 1--2 high; culm sharp, smooth or rough above; spikes 2--6, scattered, all or all but the upper one on very long weak stalks and pendulous, 1--3' long and thick and bushy, usually staminate at top; perigynium nearly orbicular, pale, few-nerved or nerveless, the beak very short and entire or nearly so; scale produced into a greenish rough awn 3--8 times as long as the perigynium.--Salt marshes of the coast, Ma.s.s., Maine, and northward; not common. Leaves smooth, broad and flat. (Eu.)

41. C. crinta, Lam. Robust and mostly stout, 2--4 high; culm sharp and rough or sometimes smooth; leaves about 3" broad, flat, more or less rough on the nerves and margins; spikes 3--6, somewhat scattered, all variously peduncled, mostly secund, curved and drooping (or in small forms rarely nearly erect), 1--4' long, narrowly and evenly cylindric, compact or attenuate below, often staminate at top; perigynium ovate, thin and puncticulate, obscurely nerved, the minute point entire; scale greenish-brown and rough-awned, 2--3 times as long as the perigynium.

(C. gynandra, _Schwein._)--Swales; common.--Var. MNOR, Boott. Much smaller in all its parts, 10--18' high; leaves narrow; spikes 3--4, 1'

long or less, less drooping; scales less prominent.--Maine to N. Y.; scarce. Somewhat resembles n. 39.

C. CRINTA ToRTA, Bailey. More slender than C. crinita, the leaves narrower; spikes nearly as slender as those of C. torta; scales blunt or simply acute and little longer than the perigynium, or sometimes very short-awned.--Moist meadows near the Glen House, White Mts.

(_Brainerd_). Might be mistaken for drooping spiked forms of n. 34.

[*] 3.--[+] 5. _Pendulnae._

[++] _Spikes narrowly cylindrical._

42. C. littoralis, Schwein. Somewhat slender but erect, 1--2 high; leaves narrow and rather stiff, flat, glaucous, shorter than the sharp and nearly smooth culm; staminate spikes 1--3, dark purple, 1' long or less, the scales obtuse; pistillate spikes 2--4, somewhat approximate, on thread-like peduncles, 1--2' long, usually staminate at top; perigynium lance-oval, faintly nerved, the minute beak entire, mostly longer than the obtuse purple scale; bracts prominently purple-auricled.

(C. Barrattii, _Schwein._ & _Torr._)--Marshes near the coast, N. J. and southward; rare.

[++][++] _Spikes globular or oblong._

[=] _Scales very sharp, prominently longer than the perigynium._

43. C. Magellanica, Lam. Slender but erect, 8--18' high; leaves flat and lax, somewhat shorter than the culm; lowest bract as wide as the leaves or nearly so and exceeding the culm; spikes 2--3, approximate, all slenderly stalked and drooping; perigynium orbicular or broad-ovate, nerved in the centre, --{2/3} the length of the scale. (C. irrigua, _Smith_.)--Deep swamps, throughout, north of Penn.; local. (Eu.)

[=][=] _Scales blunt, little exceeding the perigynium._

44. C. rariflra, Smith. Very small but stiff, 4--10' high, somewhat stoloniferous; culm obtuse and very smooth; leaves very narrow, becoming involute, shorter than the culm; spikes 1--2, only 3--10-flowered, drooping, borne in the axil of a minute awl-like and purple-auricled bract; perigynium ovate, nearly pointless, obscurely nerved, mostly a little shorter than the enveloping scale.--Mt. Katahdin, Maine (_Goodale_). (Eu.)

45. C. limsa, L. Slender but rather stiff, 1--2 high, stoloniferous; culm sharp, rough above; leaves very narrow, strongly keeled or involute; spikes 1--2, nodding on short stalks or the upper one erect, oblong, springing from the axil of a very narrow bract which is nearly always shorter than the culm; perigynium very short-pointed, about the length of the broad scale.--Deep swamps, throughout, north of Penn.; local. (Eu.)

[*] 4. HYMENOCHLae'Nae.--[+] 1. _Virescentes._

46. C. virescens, Muhl. Slender, erect or spreading, 1--1 high; leaves very narrow, more or less hairy; spikes 3--5, green, short-oblong, all somewhat stalked and often spreading, compact (1" thick or less); perigynium ovate and costate, very hairy, longer than the thin and white acute scale.--Var. COSTaTA, Dewey, usually the commoner form, is taller (often reaching 2), with spikes long-cylindric, --2' long, and a stronger ribbed perigynium.--Banks and copses, N. Eng. to Mich., and southward; common eastward.

47. C. trceps, Michx., var. hirsuta, Bailey. Usually stiffer; leaves hairy; spikes 2--4 (usually 3), all contiguous or occasionally the lowest somewhat removed, sessile, short-oblong or globular, green or brown (2--3" thick); perigynium broad-ovate, flattish, very obtuse, often spa.r.s.ely hirsute when young but smooth at maturity; staminate scales very sharp; pistillate scales acute or short-awned, about the length of or shorter than the perigynium.--Dry copses and fields, N.

Eng. to Mo., and southward; rare northward.--Var. SMiTHII, Porter.

Tall, slender, olive-green, the leaves very long, very nearly smooth; spikes small, globular or short-cylindrical (' long or less), the lowest often somewhat remote, all more inclined to be peduncled; perigynium globular and turgid, brown, squarrose, giving the spike a characteristic plump appearance.--Fields and woodlands, southern N. J., E. Penn., and southward; also in Ark.; frequent.

[*] 4.--[+] 2. _Sylvaticae._

48. C. longirostris, Torr. Very slender but erect, 1--3 high, growing in stools; leaves narrow, flat, loose; spikes 3--5, 1--2' long, loosely flowered, drooping; perigynium thin, slightly inflated, green, nearly nerveless, spreading, the beak longer than the body, about the length of the awned scale.--Shady banks from N. Eng. to Neb., and northward; frequent.--Var. MNOR, Boott. Smaller and slenderer; spikes 9" long or less, very narrow and very loosely or even alternately few-flowered; perigynium smaller. Neb. and westward.

[*] 4.--[+] 3. _Flexiles._

49. C. castanea, Wahl. Slender but erect, 1--2 high; leaves broad and flat, hairy, much shorter than the rough culm; spikes 2--4, approximate, widely spreading or drooping on filiform stalks, 1' long or less, rather dense, tawny; perigynium broad lanceolate, gradually narrowed into a beak as long as the body, thin, with a nerve on each side, longer than the light brown or whitish acute thin scale. (C. flexilis, _Rudge_.)--Banks, Conn. to Minn.; local.

C. ARCTaTA CASTaNEA, Bailey. Leaves mostly narrower, less hairy or smooth; spikes very slender and loosely flowered (scarcely over 1"

wide), erect or drooping, chestnut color; perigynium thin, long-ovate, shorter-beaked, lightly nerved, mostly surpa.s.sing the pointed whitish scale. (C. Knieskernii, _Dewey_.)--Oneida Co., N. Y.; Keweenaw Co., Mich. (_Farwell_); N. Minn.

50. C. capillaris, L. Very slender but erect, 2--12' high; culm smooth, longer than the narrow flat or at length involute leaves; spikes 2--4, either scattered or approximate, all more or less long-peduncled and drooping, borne in the axils of conspicuous sheathing bracts, very small (3--12-flowered); perigynium thin, very small, oblong-ovoid, the beak hyaline-lipped, longer than the very obtuse white scale.--Alpine summits of the White Mts.; Cortland, N. Y., Alcona Co., Mich., and Point de Tour, L. Huron. (Eu.)

[*] 4.--[+] 4. _Debiles._

[++] _Perigynium thin, rarely with more than two prominent nerves._

51. C. arctata, Boott. Slender, erect, 1--2 high; radical leaves much shorter than the culm and very broad (2--5"), flat; bracts broad and short, long-sheathing; spikes 3--5, all widely spreading or drooping on filiform stalks, 1--3' long and exceedingly slender; perigynium short (2" long or less), abruptly and conspicuously stipitate and abruptly contracted into a beak, 3-cornered, prominently nerved, green, mostly spreading, scarcely longer than the very sharp or cuspidate scale.--Woods and copses, N. Eng. to Penn. and Minn.; common.

Var. Faxni, Bailey. Spikes shorter and usually short-peduncled, erect or nearly so, much more densely flowered, part of them commonly contiguous at the top of the culm, rendering the shorter staminate spike inconspicuous; perigynium usually larger.--Lisbon, N. H. (_Faxon_); Keweenaw Co., Mich. (_Farwell_); extreme northern Minn. (_Bailey_); also in Canada.

52. C. debilis, Michx., var. Rudgei, Bailey. Very slender and diffuse, 1--2 high (or rarely reduced to 3--4'!); leaves narrow and lax, longer than the culm; spikes mostly heavier than in the last; perigynium much longer, very gradually narrowed at each end, scarcely angled and not prominently nerved, rusty when ripe, erect, twice longer than the obtuse or acutish scale. (C. debilis, of last ed.)--Copses, N. Eng. to N.

Mich., and southward; frequent east and southward.--Var STRiCTIOR, Bailey. Usually taller, strict; leaves broader (about 2" wide) and firmer; spikes stiffer, simply spreading or even erect; perigynium mostly shorter and greener, often little exceeding the scale. White Mts.

(_Faxon_).--Var p.u.b.eRA, Gray. Perigynium usually more slender, more nerved and minutely p.u.b.escent. Center and Lancaster Counties, Penn.

(_Porter, Lumsden_), and Bedford Co., Va. (_Curtiss_).

C. DeBILIS VIReSCENS, Bailey. Plant slender and very green; leaves flat, rough, mostly longer than the culm, spikes 2--3, 2' long, thin and slender, erect or nearly so, the terminal one bearing a few pistillate flowers at top; perigynium exactly intermediate between the two species, lance-ovate, nerved and slightly hairy, short-beaked, thin, twice longer than the scale.--Revere, near Boston, Ma.s.s. (_Faxon_).