Protologue Description: CAREX SCOPARIA Schkuhr, var. tessellata n. var., humilis 2-4.5 dm. alta; inflorescentis ovoideis 1.5-2.3 cm. longis; spicis 3-6 confertis ellipsoideo-ovoideis 6-10 mm. longis; squamis brunneis; perigyniis late ellipticis 2 mm. latis quam squama valde latioribus.
Low, 2-4.5 dm. high; inflorescence ovoid, 1.5-2.3 cm. long; spikes 3-6, mostly crowded, ellipsoid-ovoid, 6-10 mm. long; scales brown; body of the perigynia broadly elliptical, 2mm. wide, conspicuously broader than the subtending scale.- MAINE: damp low ground, Marshfield, July 8 1902 (Fernald); dry low ground, Pembroke, July 8, 1909 (Fernald & Wiegand, Fernald no. 1464). This is a peculiar short-headed plant obviously related to C. scoparia, but with much broader perigynia which, being wider than the dark subtending scales, give the spikes a checkered or mottled appearance. It is as yet known only from Washington County, Maine.