806
CYPERACEÆ.
[Carex.
| Section I. Spikelet solitary, simple, terminal. | |
| Leaves flat, grassy. Spikelet oblong, many-flowered. Bract short or wanting | 1. C. pyrenaica. |
| Leaves terete, strict and wiry. Spikelet ovoid, fewflowered. Bract long | 2. C. acicularis. |
| Section II. Spikelets several or many, androgynous or rarely diœcious, sessile, arranged in a compact or more or less interrupted spike, less often in a dense or rarely lax panicle. Styles 2. | |
| * Male flowers at the top of the spikelets. | |
| Small, ½–2 in. Spikelets 2–4, compacted into an ovoid head ¼–½ in. long. Utricles elliptic-ovoid, conspicuously winged | 3. C. pterocarpa. |
| Slender, 2–12 in. Leaves almost filiform. Spikelets 3–8, in a dense or lax spike ¼–1 in. long. Utricles ovate-lanceolate, beaked, nerved, minutely papillose | 4. C. Kirkii. |
| Usually stout, 6–14 in. Leaves flat, grassy. Spikelets 4–10 in a dense spike ½–1 in. long. Utricles ovoid, beaked, strongly nerved, minutely papillose | 5. C. trachycarpa. |
| Slender, strict, wiry, 6–18 in. Spikelets 6–10 in a linear spike ½–1½ in. long. Utricles narrow-lanceolate, nerved, winged above, tapering into a long subulate beak | 6. C. Muelleri. |
| Slender 1–3 ft. Spikelets many, in a lax panicle, 4–9 in. long, sometimes reduced to a spike 3–5 in. Utricles narrow-lanceolate, tapering into a long subulate beak | 7. C. kaloides. |
| Slender, laxly tufted, 1–2 ft. Spikelets many, in a dense or interrupted oblong spike ¾–1¼ in. long. Utricles ovoid, swollen at the base, shining, ribbed on the back, contracted into a rather long beak | 8. C. teretiuscula. |
| Stout, harsh, 1–3 ft. Culms acutely triquetrous. Leaves ⅕–½ in. broad. Spikelets many, in a stout spike-like panicle 3–7 in. long. Utricles ovoid, conspicuously nerved | 9. C. appressa. |
| Slender, harsh, 1–3 ft. Leaves ⅛–¼ in. broad. Spikelets many, in a linear spike-like panicle 6-18 in. long. Utricles ovoid, conspicuously nerved | 10. C. virgata. |
| Slender, drooping, 2–4 ft. Spikelets very numerous in a much and laxly branched nodding panicle 1–2½ ft. long. Utricles broadly ovoid, smooth or indistinctly nerved | 11. C. secta. |
| ** Male flowers at the base of the spikelets. | |
| Slender, 4–18 in. Leaves flat, grassy. Spikelets 2–5, pale-green, compacted into a short head or spike. Utricles ovoid, nerved, narrowed into a long beak | 12. C. inversa. |
| Small, depressed, ½–3 in. Leaves involute, wiry. Spikelets 2–3 or solitary. Utricles ovoid at the base; beak very long | 13. C. resectans. |
| Slender, 3–14 in. Leaves involute, wiry. Spikelets 2–4, brown, compacted into a short head. Utricles broadly ovoid, smooth, nerveless, not beaked | 14. C. Colensoi. |
| Slender, 4–18 in. Leaves flat, grassy. Spikelets 3–5, green, approximate or a little remote. Utricles spreading, narrow-ovoid, spongy at the base, nerved, beaked | 15. C. echinata. |
| Short, 2–8 in. Leaves flat, grassy. Spikelets 2–4, red-brown, in a dense spike ½ in. long. Utricles elliptic-ovoid, not winged, faintly nerved; beak short | 16. C. lagopina. |
