Flora of North America species comparison

(20–)30–100 cm, 1.5–3.5 mm wide basally, 0.7–1.2 mm wide distally.

dark maroon at base; flowering stems 30–100 cm, as long as leaves at maturity or a little shorter, 1.5–3 mm thick, glabrous or pubescent on angles.

sheaths usually loose, proximal green-and-white-striped and green-and-white-mottled, with conspicous transverse veins on back, fronts white to hyaline, sometimes red dotted and transversely rugose, yellow or brown and thickened at mouth;

ligules 1–4.5 mm, shorter than to as long as wide;

widest leaf blades 3.5–5 mm wide.

basal sheaths maroon, bladeless, sheaths pubescent or rarely glabrous;

others grading from maroon to green on back, light brown-hyaline on front, red dotted and usually pubescent distally, prolonged at apex;

blades flat, 3–8 mm wide, usually pubescent on abaxial surface at least near sheath, minutely scabrous on margins.

with 5–10 spikes, (1.5–)2–5 cm × 8–13 mm;

proximal internodes shorter than to as long as proximal spikes;

proximal bracts to 3 cm;

spikes with 5–15 ascending to spreading perigynia.

peduncles of proximal spikes slender, 10–25 mm, pubescent;

peduncle of terminal spike 10–30 mm, pubescent;

proximal bracts equaling or often exceeding inflorescences;

sheaths 15–45 mm;

blades 2–6 mm wide.

pale green to pale brown, veinless or weakly 2–5-veined abaxially, 3.4–4.6 × 1.9–2.8 mm, body somewhat spongy, thickened at base, margins serrulate distally;

beak 0.7–1.4 mm, apical teeth 0.3–1 mm.

green to olive-green, often red dotted, 2-ribbed with 9–12 almost equally prominent, evenly spaced veins extending from base to apex, slightly inflated around achene, ellipsoid-ovoid, 4.5–6 × 2–2.5 mm, membranous, base rounded, apex narrowing abruptly to minute beak, glabrous;

beak bidentate, less than 0.5 mm.

circular to elliptic-circular, 1.8–2.1 × 1.6–1.8 mm.

distinctly stipitate, 2.2–2.7 × 1–1.2 mm, stipe 1 mm.

scales hyaline or pale brown with green, 1–3-veined center, ovate, 2.2–3.5 × 1.2–1.8 mm, body 2/3 as long to almost length of perigynia, apex acuminate to short-awned.

scales pale hyaline with broad green midrib, elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, body shorter than mature perigynia but extending into pubescent green awn 2.5–3 mm, often short-ciliate near apex.

1.5–2.5 mm.

spikes 2–4, 1 per node, well separated or distal 2 usually overlapping terminal spike, mostly erect when young but at least proximal spikes nodding at maturity, pistillate with 10–40 perigynia attached 1 mm apart distally and to 4 mm apart proximally, cylindric, 10–50 × 3.5–6 mm.

spike gynecandrous, sessile or pedunculate, 15–35 × 2–6 mm.