45. C. limòsa, L. Slender but rather stiff, 1–2° high, stoloniferous; culm sharp, rough above; leaves very narrow, strongly keeled or involute; spikes 1–2, nodding on short stalks or the upper one erect, oblong, springing from the axil of a very narrow bract which is nearly always shorter than the culm; perigynium very short-pointed, about the length of the broad scale.—Deep swamps, throughout, north of Penn.; local. (Eu.)
[*] 4. Hymenochlæ̀næ.—[+] 1. Virescéntes.
46. C. viréscens, Muhl. Slender, erect or spreading, 1–1½° high; leaves very narrow, more or less hairy; spikes 3–5, green, short-oblong, all somewhat stalked and often spreading, compact (1½´´ thick or less); perigynium ovate and costate, very hairy, longer than the thin and white acute scale.—Var. costàta, Dewey, usually the commoner form, is taller (often reaching 2½°), with spikes long-cylindric, ½–2´ long, and a stronger ribbed perigynium.—Banks and copses, N. Eng. to Mich., and southward; common eastward.
47. C. trìceps, Michx., var. hirsùta, Bailey. Usually stiffer; leaves hairy; spikes 2–4 (usually 3), all contiguous or occasionally the lowest somewhat removed, sessile, short-oblong or globular, green or brown (2–3´´ thick); perigynium broad-ovate, flattish, very obtuse, often sparsely hirsute when young but smooth at maturity; staminate scales very sharp; pistillate scales acute or short-awned, about the length of or shorter than the perigynium.—Dry copses and fields, N. Eng. to Mo., and southward; rare northward.—Var. Smíthii, Porter. Tall, slender, olive-green, the leaves very long, very nearly smooth; spikes small, globular or short-cylindrical (½´ long or less), the lowest often somewhat remote, all more inclined to be peduncled; perigynium globular and turgid, brown, squarrose, giving the spike a characteristic plump appearance.—Fields and woodlands, southern N. J., E. Penn., and southward; also in Ark.; frequent.
[*] 4.—[+] 2. Sylváticæ.
48. C. longiróstris, Torr. Very slender but erect, 1½–3° high, growing in stools; leaves narrow, flat, loose; spikes 3–5, 1–2´ long, loosely flowered, drooping; perigynium thin, slightly inflated, green, nearly nerveless, spreading, the beak longer than the body, about the length of the awned scale.—Shady banks from N. Eng. to Neb., and northward; frequent.—Var. mìnor, Boott. Smaller and slenderer; spikes 9´´ long or less, very narrow and very loosely or even alternately few-flowered; perigynium smaller. Neb. and westward.
[*] 4.—[+] 3. Fléxiles.
49. C. castànea, Wahl. Slender but erect, 1–2½° high; leaves broad and flat, hairy, much shorter than the rough culm; spikes 2–4, approximate, widely spreading or drooping on filiform stalks, 1´ long or less, rather dense, tawny; perigynium broad lanceolate, gradually narrowed into a beak ½ as long as the body, thin, with a nerve on each side, longer than the light brown or whitish acute thin scale. (C. flexilis, Rudge.)—Banks, Conn. to Minn.; local.
C. arctàta × castànea, Bailey. Leaves mostly narrower, less hairy or smooth; spikes very slender and loosely flowered (scarcely over 1´´ wide), erect or drooping, chestnut color; perigynium thin, long-ovate, shorter-beaked, lightly nerved, mostly surpassing the pointed whitish scale. (C. Knieskernii, Dewey.)—Oneida Co., N. Y.; Keweenaw Co., Mich. (Farwell); N. Minn.
50. C. capillàris, L. Very slender but erect, 2–12´ high; culm smooth, longer than the narrow flat or at length involute leaves; spikes 2–4, either scattered or approximate, all more or less long-peduncled and drooping, borne in the axils of conspicuous sheathing bracts, very small (3–12-flowered); perigynium thin, very small, oblong-ovoid, the beak hyaline-lipped, longer than the very obtuse white scale.—Alpine summits of the White Mts.; Cortland, N. Y., Alcona Co., Mich., and Point de Tour, L. Huron. (Eu.)