[ IOIO ]
S C H CE N U S rufus.
Brown Bog-rußi.
TRIANDRIA Monogynia.
G en. C har. Glumes chaffy, cluftered; the outer ones
barren. Cor. none. Seed i , roundifh, among
the glumes.
Spec. C har. Stem round, naked. Spike two-ranked,
longer than the folitary blunt involucrum : fpike-
lets o f few flowers. Leaves channelled.
Syn . Schcenus rufus. Hudf. 15. Sm. FI. Brit. 45.
With. 80. Hull. 12. Dick/. H. Sicc.fafc. 10. 6.
S. compreffi varietas. Lightf. 1138. t. 24. f . 2.
*1 ' H IS Schcenus, unknown to Linnaeus, has been found in
marthes near the coaft in feveral parts of Scotland and the
Hebrides. Lightfoot placed it in his work (probably on the
authority of Yalden, who had it from its original dlfcoverer
Dr. Walker) by the erroneous name of S.ferrugineus, p. 86;
but in his appendix fell into another miftake in fuppofing it
a variety of S. comprejfus. Hudfon defcribed it as new by the
name of rufus, and we believe it to be alfo his ferrugineus,
adopted from report of Dr. Hope. Mr. Mackay has fent it
from the coaft eaft of Dunbar, as well as from Arran, Skye,
&c. and Mr. G. Donn from Fifefhire and Angusfhire. The
fpecimen in our plate was gathered in Anglefea by the Rev.
H. Davies, whofe remarks confirm the defcnption in FI. Brit.
except that the recent ftem is fmooth, not ftriated, and that
the ftigmas are never more than two.
It is perennial, flowering in July. The root creeps horizontally.
The fibres are a little downy. Stems ere£t, 4 to 6
inches high, naked, except the 2 leaves with broad Iheathing
bafes at their lower part. Leaves fmooth, femicylindrical,
channelled above, moftly fhorter than the ftem. Spike terminal,
ovate, flat, moftly fubtended by a {hort leafy bra&ea,
and compofed of 5 or 6 alternate fpikelets of 2 or 3 flowers
each, with fmooth turgid polithed brown glumes. Stamina
3, with pale yellow linear antherse. Stigmas revolute.