119. Carex Careyana Torr. Carey's Sedge

Fig. 986

Carex Careyana Torr.; Dewey, Am. Journ. Sci. 30: 60. /. 88. 1836.

Glabrous, bright green, culms slender, erect or .somewhat reclining, smooth or nearly so, 1°-2 1/2° tall. Basal leaves flat, 3"-6" wide, much shorter than the culm; bracts narrow, short, with very long purplish-tinged sheaths; staminate spike usually long-stalked, large; pistillate spikes 1-3, erect, loosely 3-8-flow-ered, less than 1' long, the upper short-stalked and approximate, the lower long-stalked and remote; perigynia ovoid-elliptic, very sharply 3-angled, many-nerved, 2 3/4" long or more and over 1" thick, the short beak slightly oblique, entire; scales ovate with hyaline margins, cuspidate or awned, about half length of perigynia; stigmas 3.

In woods, New York to Michigan, south to District of Columbia, Virginia and extreme southern Missouri. May-June.

120. Carex Platyphylla Carey. Broad-Leaved Sedge

Fig. 987

Carex platyphylla Carey, Am. Journ. Sci. (II.) 4: 23. 1847.

Glabrous, pale green and glaucous, culms slender, spreading or reclining, 4'-15' long. Leaves of sterile culms flat and broad, 4 1/2"-12" wide, shorter than the culm, very smooth (except edges); those of fertile culms much reduced; bracts with long clasping sheaths, usually less than 2' long; staminate spike stalked; pistillate spikes 2-4, distant, erect, all slender-stalked or the upper one nearly sessile, loosely 4-10-flowered, 5"-10" long; perigynia ovoid-elliptic, 3-angled, many-nerved, slightly bent or nearly straight at the narrowed or short-beaked apex, 1 1/4"-ii" long, rather more than 1/2" thick, somewhat longer than the broadly ovate, acute, cuspidate or short-awned scales; stigmas 3.

In woods and thickets, Quebec and Ontario to Michigan, south to Virginia and Illinois. Ascends to 2500 ft. in Virginia. May-June.

121. Carex Abscondita Mackenzie. Thicket Sedge

Fig. 988

Carex ptychocarpa Steud. Syn. PI. Cyp. 234. 1855. Not Link, 1799. Carex abscondita Mackenzie, Bull. Torr. Club 37: 244.

1910.

Glabrous, pale green and glaucous, culms erect, very slender, smooth, only 2'-8' tall. Leaves flat, the larger 2"-4 1/2" wide, much longer than the culm; bract of second pistillate spike usually overtopping the culm; staminate spike small, 2"-4 1/2' long, sessile or nearly so; pistillate spikes 2 or 3, approximate, sessile or short-peduncled, or the lower one slender-stalked and nearly basal, all erect, loosely 5-10-flow-ered, 4"-8" long; perigynia oblong-ovoid, pale, sharply 3-angled, finely many-nerved, about 1 1/3" long, rather more than 1/2" thick, pointed at both ends; minutely straight-beaked or slightly bent, the orifice entire; scales ovate, thin, obtuse to short-cuspidate, about one-half as long as the perigynia; stigmas 3.

In moist woods and thickets, Massachusetts and New Jersey to Florida and Louisiana. Local. June-July.