mucronate

Flower very short-stalked or sessile, the glume and palet usually minutely bearded at base, herbaceous, deciduous with the enclosed grain, often equal, the glume 3-nerved, mucronate or awned at the apex.

Involucral leaves 2 or 4, larger than the stem-leaves; perianth 3–4-angled, mucronate.

Stems dichotomous; leaves imbricate, flat, ovate, mucronate or rarely obtuse, entire; lower lobe marginal, large, round-cucullate; underleaves broadly ovate, deeply parted, the divisions long-acuminate; diœcious; antheridial spikes on short lateral branches, elongated; lobes of the involucral leaves acuminate, much narrowed at base, and the large underleaves carinate-concave, deeply parted, their apiculate divisions entire or toothed.—Shaded rocks, Stony Creek, Carbon Co.,

Bark of trunk shaggy, exfoliating in rough strips or plates; inner bud-scales becoming large and conspicuous, persistent till the flowers are fully developed; leaflets 5–7, when young minutely downy beneath, finely serrate, the three upper obovate-lanceolate, the lower pair much smaller and oblong-lanceolate, all taper-pointed; fruit globular or depressed; nut white, flattish-globular, barely mucronate, the shell thinnish.—N. Eng. to N. shore of L. Erie and S. E.

Cotyledons 2.—Leaves evergreen, flat, mucronate, rigid, scattered, 2-ranked.