Carex G racilis. Slender Spiked Carex.
CAREX gracilis fpicis mafculis et femineis pluribus, fubfiliformibus, floribus digynis.
CAREX nigra verna vulgaris. Lin. FI. Lap. 330. ?
CYPEROIDES anguftifolium, caule exquifite triangulari, afpero, fpicis floriferis prselongis, tenui-
oribus, ferainalibus autem fpicis biuncialibus, et habitioribus, ere6lis, fquamis, bre-
vibus acutis, capfulis fpadiceo viridibus, rhomboideis, fubtriquetris. Micheli Nov:
Gen. p. 60. n. 40.
GRAMEN cyperoides majus anguftifolium. Park. 1265.
Great narrow-leaved vernal Cyperus-grafs. *
Rail Hiß. 1293. , Syh. p. 417, n. 2.
RADIX perennis, repens.
CULMUS in aquofis bi feu tripedalis, in pratis h'ü-
milior, foliofus, nodofus, triqüeter, àrtguliâ
acutis, afperrimis.
fOLIA radicalia longa, viridiä, vix glänca, lirteas
duas lata, ad margines et carinam afpera,
vaginäntia, brattoedlia Ifneam dura dimidia
lata, inferiore (florente planta) fpicis lön-
giore.
SPICÆ mafculæ et femineæ diftin&æ, mafculæ ple-
rumque tres, e fufco nigricantes, graciles,
öbfolete triquetræ, rtutäntes-, terminaflis- bi-
ütfciäliS, inferior duplo atit triplö brevior,
infima fabpius aßdrögyrta, longior, femineæ
tres aut quatuor, teretes, faciles, longitu-
dine mafculi terminalis, feftiles feu breviter
, pedunculatæ, fubere&i, nigricantes. , .
IV1A3.
SOUAM^E ovato-acutae, ar£le imbricatae, carinatae,
e purpureo nigricantes, carina fubviridi,
fig. i . au£l.
STAMINA: Filamenta tria, capillaria, alba; A nth
e r s lineares, flavae, fig. 2.
FiEM.
SOUAMAL. maf. fimiles, magis vero oblongae ac ob-
H tufe.jSg-. 3.
NECTARIUM obiongum, glabrum, ore mtegro;
G ermen minimum ; Stylus neftario longior;
Stigmata duo, villofa, fig. 4. 5.
SEMEN triquetrum, minimum, intra neflarium,
H 6.
> ROOT perennial and creeping.
; STALK , in watery fituarions two or three feet high,
\ in meadows not lib- tall, leafy, jointed, threecornered,
the angles fharp and very rough
to the touch.
' LEAVES from the root long, o f a green colour,
■ fcarcely glaucous, two lines in breadth, on
s the edges and midrib rough,, fheathing the
flalfe, bradteat leaves a line and a half in
; breadth, the lowermoft, while the plant is
in flower, longer thaM the fpifces.
[ SPIKES, both male and female, growing diftin6Uy,
* the male generally three in number,', of a
broWnifh black colour, {lender, faintly three-
cOrrtered, drooping, the terminal fpike about
two inches in length, the next below twice
or thrice as (hort, the lowermoft for the moft
> part androgynous and longer, female three
or four, round, (lender, length of the teri
minal male fpike, feflile or (landing on (hort
■ footftalks, nearly upright and blacxifli.
I , Male.
> SCALES ovate, pointed, lying clofely one over another,
keeled, of purplifh black colour, the
keel greenifh, Jig. 1. magnif.
f STAMINA: three Filaments, {lender and white;
A n th er s linear and yellow, Jig. 2.
f Female.
. SCALES as in the male, but more oblong and blunter,
, Jig. 3.
* NECTARY oblong, fmooth, the mouth entire; G ermen
very fmall; Sty le longer than the Nec-
r tary ; Stigmata, two, v i l l o u s , 4, 5.
' SEED, three-cornered, very minute, witnin the nec-
tary, fig. 6.
If the feafon be mild, this plant and the rip aria flower in April, and ripen their feeds in June and July.
The gracilis, though a flenderer plant both in (talks, leaves, and fpikes, is equal in height where it grows
in (imilar (ituations to either of the other two ; but as this has a greater tendency, at lead in Batterfea MeadowS
to grow among the herbage, it is frequently found (horter, and fometimes large patches of its foliage are
vifible without any flowering fpikes.
This fpecies is diftinguilned from the other two, not only by having narrower leaves, which want the
glaucous colour of the other two, and flenderer fpikes, which in their young ftate are remarkably pendulous,
fo as at firft fight to give this plant an appearance of the Carex pendula, but the female flowers are conftantly
and invariably digynous. My moft obliging friend Dr. G oodenough, to whom I had communicated my
thoughts on this lubjeft, examining thefe plants, with his ufual accuracy, anticipated me in the difcovery of
this moft important, moft neceflary character ; a character which in a moment decidedly diftinguifhes betwixt
two plants, which without it would for ever have been liable to be confounded.
We (hould have been inclined to fuppofe that our gracilis was the acuta of L inn jeus, had he not quoted
Micheli’s figure, to which he adds the epithet bona; that figure is a tolerable reprefentation of our acuta, but
the fpikes are far too thick for thofe of the gracilis.
This fpecies, which is equally common with the two others, flowers a week or two later.
Agriculturally confidered, it is perhaps doubtful, whether we are to rank the Carices with the ufeful or the
noxious plants; from what we have hitherto obferved, we (hould rather clafs them with the latter, not but
we think the Junci, Scirpi, See. infinitely more injurious, yet (till they occupy the room of better grades ;
their principal merit is, that they, afford early pafturage, yet their foliage is harfh and rough, and produ&ive
of indifferent hay; and fuch is the opinion of L in n /eus, who, in his Flora. Lapon. remarks, that the
hufbandman is not fond of fuch meadows as are over-run with Carices,' as they afford bad fodder and unprofitable
pafturage “ nec pinguefcat bos carice paflus acuta.;” unfortunately, however, when the prefent fpecies,
or fuch as have fimilar creeping roots, have once got poffeflion of the foil, they are the moft difficult plants
poflible to eradicate. - . . . .
As articles of rural ceconomy, they are in many inftances highly ufeful: in Hamplhire, Surrey, and, perhaps,
other hop counties, the leaves of thefe three fpecies are ufed indiferiminately under the name of Sedge, for
tying the young hop plants to the poles. Micheli informs us, that in Italy they are ufed to cover their
wine flafks, to make the common fort of chair bottoms, and. that the Coopers in making tubs, &c. place them
betwixt the (laves to make them water-tight: to the comfort of the Laplander, they contribute in a high
■ ' ^ ■■ ■• degree,