Chapter C: CRINITA x 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. _Pendulinae._

[++] _Spikes narrowly cylindrical._

42. C. littoralis, Schwein. Somewhat slender but erect, 1--2 deg. high; leaves narrow and rather stiff, flat, glaucous, shorter than the sharp and nearly smooth culm; staminate spikes 1--3, dark purple, 11/2' 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, 1/2--{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. rariflora, 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. limosa, L. Slender but rather stiff, 1--2 deg. 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. HYMENOCHLAENAE.--[+] 1. _Virescentes._

46. C. virescens, Muhl. Slender, erect or spreading, 1--11/2 deg. high; leaves very narrow, more or less hairy; spikes 3--5, green, short-oblong, all somewhat stalked and often spreading, compact (11/2'' 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 21/2 deg.), with spikes long-cylindric, 1/2--2' long, and a stronger ribbed perigynium.--Banks and copses, N. Eng. to Mich., and southward; common eastward.

47. C. triceps, 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 sparsely 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 (1/2' 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, 11/2--3 deg. 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. MINOR, 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--21/2 deg. 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 1/2 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.