rough towards the top at the margins and under surface.
The sheaths of the separate fascicles of leaves red, by which
character, Gaudin remarks, it is distinguishable from its
(European) allies. Barren spike about 6 lines in length and
a line in breadth, acute at base and apex, sessile or on a
short peduncle. Fertile spikes 1 or 2, sessile, contiguous, S
to 4 lines long and 2 lines broad. All the scales are finely
ciliate, mucronate, of a dark purple or ferruginous hue, paler
at the margins; those of the barren spike closely imbricate,
either emarginate or acuminate; those of the fertile spike obtuse
and emarginate, striate at base, the nerves sometimes
white. Bracts in the form of scales, with a setaceous point,
the lower one generally shorter than its spike, rarely leafy and
elongated. Perigone 1-| lin. long, ^ lin. broad, oblong, white,
shining, smooth, turgid, and spongy below: above triquetrous,
more or less tinged with purple, hairy, nerved, with a very
short beak and an emarginate ciliate orifice; in drying becoming
pear-shaped, retaining its triquetrous form; finally
deciduous. Nut l | lin. long and § lin. broad, triquetrous,
ferruginous, punctulate,Differs from C. prceco xp, oJiancteqd., aint tiotsp ,c rsotiwpidtaetde,. shorter, eva-
ginate fertile spikes, and from C. pilulifera, Linn., in its emarginDatiesc
socvaeleres da nbdy hMavri.n gW o.n lMy iotnteen o ri nt w1o8 4f2e rtinil eh sepaitkheys .ground
near Tunbridge Wells, and referred by him to the C. mon-
tana, Linn. Flowers in April and May. Mr. Borrer tells
me that it flowers about the same time as C. prcecox, but matures
its fruit sooner, and that C. pilulifera is a much later
plant. The strong, woody, shaggy, and creeping rhizoma,
is enough to distinguish it from them, independent of other
characters. The specimens of this plant in the Linncean Herbarium
marked “ montana, 15.” by Linnaeus were thought by
Sir J. E. Smith (Linn. Trans, v. 2. p. 191, and Eng. Flora,
vH. e4rb. apr.i u1m0 3h) e toh abs ep ltahcee dsa mBoe haesm Cia. np iolunleisfe frrao,m a nSdi eibne hr iisn o twhne
same sheet with specimens of C. pilulifera, while he has others
from Switzerland which he has marked in pencil “ collina,”
a name which Willdenow, misled by Smith, gave to it.
Of C. emarginata, Willd., Kunth says, “ nescio quocharac-
tere a C. collina distinguenda.” The specimen in Herb.
Willd., he savs, is young and like Schkuhr’s fig., in which the
form of the fertile spikes is more oblong than in our English
plant. Gaudin speaks of a variety “ spicis femineis subconfu-
entibus,” to which he refers C. conglobata, All., and his own
C. pubsscens. I have never seen more than two fertile spikes,
and all crowded; but Gaudin alludes to three, the lower one
sometimes distant. I am indebted to Mr. Borrer for several
of the synonyms, and to him and Mr. Forster for my specimens.—
F. B.