[++][++] _Sheaths usually purple._

74. C. plantaginea, Lam. Slender but erect, 1--2 high; leaves --1'

broad, very firm, appearing after the flowers and persisting over winter, shorter than the culm; staminate spike purple and clavate, stalked; pistillate spikes 3--4, scattered, loosely few-flowered, erect, the peduncles included in the leafless sheaths; perigynium smaller than in n. 73, prominently beaked, about as long as the sharp scale.--Rich woods, N. Eng. to Wisc., and southward; local.

[*] 6.--[+] 3. _Paniceae_.

[++] _Beak cylindrical and prominent; plant not glaucous._

75. C. Saltuensis, Bailey. Very slender and more or less diffuse, strongly stoloniferous, 1--1 high; leaves narrow and soft, shorter than the culm; spikes 2--3, scattered, all peduncled and more or less spreading, loosely 3--10-flowered; perigynium small, nearly nerveless, thin, the beak straight and sharply toothed; scale loose, acute, shorter than the perigynium. (C. v.a.g.i.n.ata, last ed.)--Deep swamps, Vt. to Minn.; local.

76. C. polymorpha, Muhl. Stout, 1--2 high; leaves rather broad, short; spikes 1--2, short-stalked, erect, compact or rarely loose, usually staminate at the apex, 1' long or less; perigynium long-ovate, obscurely nerved; the very long and nearly straight beak oblique or lipped at the orifice; scale reddish-brown, obtuse, shorter than the perigynium.--Moist meadows, Ma.s.s. to N. C.; local.

[++][++] _Beak short or none; plant often glaucous._

[=] _Plants of ordinary habit._

77. C. tetanica, Schkuhr. Rather slender, rarely glaucous, somewhat stoloniferous; culm scabrous, at least above; spikes all peduncled, the upper one very shortly so, pale, all more or less attenuate below, the lower borne in the axils of bracts 3' long or more; perigynium not turgid, greenish, prominently many-nerved, the beak strongly bent; scale obtuse or abruptly mucronate, all except the lowest mostly shorter than the perigynium.--Meadows and borders of ponds from W. Ma.s.s. westward; common westward.--Var. WODII, Bailey. Very slender and strongly stoloniferous; leaves narrow, very long and lax; spikes mostly alternately flowered throughout; scales often sharper. (C. Woodii, _Dewey_.) Rich woods, N. Y. to Mich., and south to Washington; frequent.--Var. MeADII, Bailey. Stiffer; leaves mostly broader and stricter; spikes thick and densely flowered, not attenuate at base, the upper one often sessile; perigynium larger. (C. Meadii, _Dewey_.) R. I.

to Neb., and southward; rare eastward.--Var. CaNBYI, Porter. Stout and stiff; leaves still broader (about 2" wide) and flat; spikes thick, often ' wide; perigynium long, straight or very nearly so; scale large, nearly equalling or exceeding the perigynium. E. Penn. (_Canby_); Ill.

and Wisc.; little known.

[C.] PANiCEA, L. Strict, often stiff, glaucous-blue 1--2 high; culm smooth; bracts 1--2' long; spikes 1--3, scattered, colored, peduncled, erect, rather compact or loose below, seldom 1' long; perigynium ovoid, yellow or purple, somewhat turgid, scarcely nerved, the point usually curved, mostly longer than the purple-margined scale.--Fields, E. Ma.s.s.

and R. I. (Nat. from Eu.)

[=][=] _Very strict, densely glaucous._

78. C. livida, Willd. Culms 18' high or less; leaves narrow, often becoming involute; spikes 1 or 2 and aggregated or approximate, or rarely a third nearly radical, sessile or nearly so, erect, narrow; perigynium ovoid-oblong, nerved, granular, beakless, the point straight or nearly so, orifice entire; scale obtuse, mostly a little shorter than the perigynium.--Pine-barrens of N. J., and sphagnum swamps northward to N. Eng. and L. Superior; local. (Eu.)

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

79. C. aurea, Nutt. Low and slender, 1 high or less; bracts exceeding the culm; spikes 2--4, all but the lowest usually approximate, peduncled or the upper one or two sessile, erect, loosely few-flowered or sometimes becoming ' long, at maturity yellow or brown, the terminal one frequently pistillate above; perigynium fleshy at maturity, nerved, longer than the blunt scale.--Wet meadows and springy banks, throughout; rather common.

[*] 6.--[+] 5. _Digitatae_.

[++] _Spikes two or more._

80. C. eburnea, Boott. Exceedingly slender and capillary, erect, 4--12'

high, stoloniferous; leaves shorter than the culm; staminate spike very small and very short-peduncled, overtopped by the two upper pistillate spikes; pistillate spikes 2--4, approximate or the lowest remote, all stalked, erect, 2--6-flowered; perigynium very small, almost nerveless, smooth and becoming black and shining at full maturity; scale white and thin, obtuse, shorter than the perigynium.--Tufted in sandy or light soils from N. Eng. to Ky. and Neb.; frequent.

81. C. Richardsni, R. Br. Rather stiff, 4--9' high, stoloniferous; sheaths short, purple or brown; staminate spike stout and mostly short-peduncled; pistillate spikes 1--2, approximate, the very short stalks included, erect, compact, less than ' in length; perigynium obovoid, firm, hairy, the very short beak entire or erose; scale brown with a conspicuous white-hyaline margin, obtuse or pointless, and longer than the perigynium.--Dry ground, western N. Y. to Ill., and northwestward; rare.

82. C. pedunculata, Muhl. Low and diffuse, 3--10' high, forming mats; leaves abundant, very green, flat and firm, longer than the weak culms; staminate spike very small, with the uppermost pistillate spike sessile at its base; pistillate spikes 2--4 on each culm, scattered and long-peduncled from green sheaths, erect or spreading, many other spikes nearly or quite radical and very long-stalked, all 3--8-flowered; perigynium triangular-obovate, smooth or very slightly p.u.b.escent above, the short and nearly entire beak somewhat oblique; scale green or purple, truncate and cuspidate, mostly a little longer than the perigynium.--Dry woods and banks, N. Eng. to Va. (_Kennedy_) and Minn.; frequent northward.

[++][++] _Spike one or rarely a rudiment of a second; plant dicious._

83. C. picta, Steudel. Rather weak, 1 high or less; leaves flat and firm, persisting through the winter, at least twice longer than the culm; a sheathing purple scale at the base of the spike; staminate spike about 1' long, clavate in anthesis, the purple scales ending in a very short and blunt whitish tip; pistillate spike narrower and mostly longer, the scales more abruptly contracted into a colored cusp and at length deciduous; perigynium obovate, much contracted below into a stipe-like base, very strongly nerved, entirely pointless, hairy above, covered by the scale. (C. Boottiana, _Benth._)--In a wooded ravine with Hepatica and Epigaea, near Bloomington, Ind. (_Dudley_); also Ala. and La.

[*] 7. SPHaeRIDIoPHORae.--[+] 1. _Scirpnae_.

84. C. scirpoidea, Michx. Strict, the pistillate plant mostly stiff, 6--18' high; leaves flat, shorter than the culm; spike 1' long or less, densely cylindrical, very rarely with a rudimentary second spike at its base; perigynium ovate, short-pointed, very hairy, about the length of the ciliate purple scale.--Mountains of N. New Eng.; Drummond's Island, L. Huron. (Norway.)

[*] 7.--[+] 2. _Montanae_.

[++] _Some or all of the culms longer than the leaves (or in the type of n. 85 frequently shorter)._

[=] _Staminate spike minute, wholly or partially concealed in the head; leaves always very narrow; radical spikes often present._

85. C. deflexa, Hornem. Diffuse and low, tufted; culms 1--6' high, setaceous, more or less curved or spreading, little exceeding or shorter than the leaves; staminate spike exceedingly minute and nearly always entirely invisible in the head; pistillate spikes 2--3, 2--5-flowered, green, or green and brown, all aggregated into a head, the lowest one always more or less short-peduncled and subtended by a leafy bract '

long or less; radical spikes few; perigynium very small and much contracted below, spa.r.s.ely hairy or nearly smooth, the beak flat and very short, mostly longer than the acutish scale. (C. Novae-Angliae, last ed., mostly.)--High mountains of N. H. and Vt.

Var. Deanei, Bailey. Taller and lax, the culms 6--12' high and some or all prominently longer than the longer and loose leaves; staminate spike much larger (2--3" long), erect or oblique, sessile; pistillate spikes larger (4--8-flowered), less aggregated or the lowest usually separated, though rarely more than ' apart; radical spikes usually numerous; bract mostly longer.--Swales or dryish places, high or subalpine regions, Mt.

Desert, Maine (_Rand_); Ess.e.x, Ma.s.s.; N. H., Vt., and N. Y.; scarce. In aspect like n. 86.

Var. media, Bailey. Rather stiff, 4--12' high, in dense tufts; most of the spikes equalling or exceeding the leaves, the staminate prominent, erect (3--5" long), sessile or very short-peduncled; pistillate spikes 2--3, all scattered, the uppermost at or near the base of the staminate spike, the lowest usually very prominently peduncled and subtended by a conspicuous bract which surpa.s.ses the culm, all rather compactly 3--8-flowered, green, or brown and green; radical spikes several; perigynium larger, much like that of short-beaked forms of n. 90.--Keweenaw Co., Mich. (_Farwell_); also far westward.

86. C. varia, Muhl. Erect, mostly strict, 6--15' high, tufted and somewhat stoloniferous; culms variable in length, often twice longer than the leaves; staminate spike 3" long or less; pistillate spikes closely aggregated, or rarely somewhat loosely disposed but never scattered, all strictly sessile, green; radical spikes none; lower bract usually present; perigynium longer-pointed than in the last, about the length of the sharp scale. (C. Emmonsii, _Dewey_.)--Banks and dry woods; frequent.--In var. COLORaTA, Bailey, the scales are purple. Mostly southward.

[=][=] _Staminate spike very prominent (or in the variety of n. 89 very small, but the leaves broad); radical spikes none._

[a.] _Scales smooth._

87. C. Nvae-angliae, Schwein. Very slender and soft, erect, stoloniferous, 6--8' high; culms little longer than the very narrow leaves; staminate spike exceedingly narrow (3--8" long by about "

wide), mostly minutely peduncled; pistillate spikes 2, or rarely 3, the upper one near the base of the staminate spike, the lower very short-peduncled and removed --1' and subtended by a leafy bract which nearly or quite equals the culm, both rather loosely 3--6-flowered; perigynium very narrow, often nearly oblanceolate, small, very thinly hairy, the beak sharp and prominent; stigmas often 2.--Mountain swamps of W. Ma.s.s., and Mt. Desert, Maine (_Rand_); rare.

88. C. Pennsylvanica, Lam. A foot high or less, erect, strongly stoloniferous, forming large patches; leaves narrow and more or less involute, dark or dull green, mostly nearly as long as the culm; staminate spike ' (rarely ') long, usually dull brown or brown-purple, sessile or very nearly so; pistillate spikes 1--3, contiguous or the two lower rarely ' apart, all sessile and usually dark-colored, the lowest bract very short or at least rarely prominent; perigynium short- or round-ovate, hairy.--Dry fields; our commonest species.

89. C. communis, Bailey. Habitually taller and stricter, 8--18' high, in small tufts, never stoloniferous; leaves proportionately shorter, broad (about 2"), flat and pale; staminate spike mostly longer, often short-peduncled and usually paler; pistillate spikes 2--4, scattered on the upper part of the culm, green or tawny, the lowest one or two sometimes peduncled and often with prominent leafy bracts. (C. varia, last ed.)--Dry hill-sides; common.

Var. Wheeleri, Bailey. Mostly greener, 3--14' high; leaves soft and flat and much shorter than the culm; staminate spike ' long or less, very narrow, sessile and oblique; pistillate spikes mostly closer together.--Knolls in woods, Ionia Co., Mich. (_Wheeler_), and Alcona Co.

(_Bailey_); Middletown, Conn. (_Barratt_), and Cheshire Co., N. H. It has much the aspect of n. 86, but is readily distinguished by the broad leaves and more scattered spikes.

[b.] _Scales rough-cuspidate._

C. PRae'c.o.x, Jacq. Rather stiff, the culm sometimes curved, 3--10' high; leaves flat, shorter than the culm; staminate spike prominently clavate, mostly sessile; pistillate spikes 2--3, all contiguous, sessile or the lowest very short-peduncled and subtended by a bract scarcely as long as itself, all oblong or short-cylindric, the lowest about 6" long; perigynium triangular-obovoid, the very short beak entire or erose, thinly hispid-hirsute, about the length of the scale.--Fields, E. Ma.s.s.

(Nat. from Eu. early in the century.)

[++][++] _Part or usually all of the culms much shorter than the leaves._

90. C. umbellata, Schkuhr. (Pl. 6, fig. 11--14.) Low, growing in small and dense mats (1--3' across); leaves short and often stiff (2--6'long), flat, the earliest very narrow but the later often 2" broad; spikes all on separate scapes which rarely exceed 1--2' in length (or rarely one or two short true culms), usually densely aggregated at the surface of the ground and hidden by the leaves, the pistillate spikes green or tawny and rather loosely few-flowered; perigynium slenderly beaked, toothed, very lightly p.u.b.escent, about the length of the acute and often rough-tipped scale.--Dry banks and knolls, N. Eng. to N. J. and N. Y., and perhaps farther westward; infrequent.--Var. ViCINA, Dewey. Tufts looser and larger; leaves longer (often 1 or more) and laxer, sometimes broader; some pistillate spikes borne near the base of the staminate on a true culm which is 3--8' high, one or two on each culm. With the species and farther westward; infrequent.

91. C. ngro-marginata, Schwein. Leaves mostly stiffer than in n. 90, often broader, and some of the culms prolonged; perigynium smooth or nearly so, shorter beaked; scales purple-margined, giving the spikes a very dark or variegated appearance, considerably larger and longer than in the last.--Dry hillsides, N. J., and southward; local.

[*] 7.--[+] 3. _Triquetrae._

92. C. p.u.b.escens, Muhl. Strict, 1--2 high, p.u.b.escent throughout; leaves flat and soft, shorter than the culm; spikes 2--4, the lower 1 or 2 short-peduncled, and about ' long, loosely flowered, erect; perigynium very hairy, conspicuously beaked and minutely toothed, straight, about the length of the truncate and rough-cuspidate thin scale.--Copses and moist meadows, N. Eng. to Ky., and westward; frequent.

[*] 8. PHYLLOSTaCHYae.

93. C. Jamesii, Schwein. (Pl. 5, fig. 17--21.) Diffuse, 6--10' high; leaves very narrow (1" or less), much surpa.s.sing the culm; spike very small, the staminate portion inconspicuous, the pistillate flowers 1--3 and loosely disposed; perigynium globular, produced into a very long and roughened nearly entire beak; scale narrow, the lowest often 1--2' long, the upper often shorter than the perigynium. (C. Steudelii, _Kunth._)--Woods, N. Y. to Ill., and southward; frequent.