II. Carex Siccata Dewey. Dry-Spiked Sedge. Hillside Sedge

Fig. 878

Carex siccata Dewey, Am. Jour. Sci. 10: 278. 1826.

Rootstocks long-creeping, and stout; culms slender, single or in small clumps, erect, rough above, 1°-2° tall. Leaves erect, 1"-1 1/2" wide, usually shorter than the culm, the lower short; bracts short or the lowest bristle-form and elongated; head slender; spikes 3-8, oblong or subglobose, 2 1/2"-4' long, brownish or brown, clustered or more or less separated, usually gynaecandrous or staminate; perigynia ovate-lanceolate, much flattened but firm, 2. 1/2"-3' long and 1" wide, wing-margined, several-nerved on both sides, the inner face, concave by the incurved margins, the tapering rough beak nearly or fully as long as the body; scales ovate-lanceolate, membranous, acute or acuminate, nearly equalling the perigynia; stigmas 2.

In dry fields and on hills, Maine to Alaska, south to Rhode Island, New Jersey, Michigan, Arizona and California. May-July.

12. Carex Retroflexa Miihl. Reflexed Sedge

Fig. 879

Carex retroflexa Muhl.; Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 235. 1805. C. rosea var. retroflexa Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3: 389. 1836.

Culms very slender, erect, rather stiff, 8'-18' tall, smooth or roughish above. Leaves 1/2"- 1 1/4" in width, mostly shorter than the culm; lower bract bristle-form, sometimes 2' long, usually shorter; spikes 4-8, normally androgynous, subglobose, 4-10-flowered, the upper all close together, the lower 1 to 3 separated; perigynia broadly ovoid with slightly raised margin, radiating or reflexed at maturity about 1 1/2" long and somewhat more than 3/4" wide, smooth, green-brown, compressed, but corky-thickened, biconvex, and finely nerved toward the base, tapering upwardly into a smooth 2-toothed beak more than one-third the length of the body; scales ovate, hyaline, acuminate, soon falling, about half as long as the perigynia; stigmas 2.

In woods and thickets, Massachusetts to Ontario, Michigan, Florida and Texas. May-July.

13. Carex Texensis (Torr.) Bailey. Texas Sedge

Fig. 880

Carex rosea var. texensis Torr.; Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3: 389, hyponym. 1836.

Carex texensis Bailey, Mem. Torr. Club 5: 97. 1894.

Similar to the preceding species, culms very slender, erect, smooth, 6'-18' tall. Leaves spreading or ascending, soft, about 1/2" wide, shorter than the culm; lower bract commonly filiform, sometimes elongated; spikes 4-7, 4-8-flowered, all close together in a narrow head 1/2'-1 1/2' long, or the lower ones separated; perigynia narrowly lance-ovate or lanceolate, plano-convex, with slightly raised margin, corky-thickened and finely nerved towards base, green at maturity, radiating or widely spreading, about 1 1/2" long, i" wide, the smooth, tapering beak about one-half as long as the body; scales lanceolate or ovate, hyaline, acuminate, less than one-half as long as the perigynia; stigmas 2.

Southern Illinois and Missouri to South Carolina, Alabama and Texas. April-May.