Flora of North America species comparison

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

arching to spreading, 5–31 cm, smooth or scabrous distally;

bases (remnants of old leaves) weakly or not at all fibrous.

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.

blades pale green, shorter to longer than culms, 0.9–2.6(–3.2) mm wide, herbaceous, glabrous abaxially, scabrous adaxially.

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.

with both staminate and pistillate spikes;

peduncles of basal spikes slender, elongate, erect;

peduncles of distal spikes 0.6–4(–10) mm;

proximal nonbasal bracts leaflike, equaling or exceeding inflorescences.

pistillate spikes 1–4 (basal spikes 0–2);

cauline spikes overlapping, separated by less than 7 mm, with 4–15 perigynia;

distal staminate spikes 3.1–11.3 × 0.7–2.7 mm.

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.

yellowish green to grayish green, veinless, globose to obovoid, 2.3–3.1 × 1–1.4 mm, as long as or longer than wide;

beak often bent, pale green, occasionally with reddish brown tinge, 0.4–0.8 mm, ciliate-serrulate, apical teeth 0.1–0.2 mm.

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

brown, obovoid, obtusely trigonous in cross section, 1.3–1.6 × 1–1.4 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.

1.5–2.5 mm.

1.2–2.5 mm.

pistillate scales pale to dark reddish brown, with narrow to broad white margins, ovate, 2–2.8 × 1–1.8 mm, shorter than perigynia, apex obutse, acute, or acuminate (cuspidate on some basal spikes); staminate scales ovate, 2.4–4 × 1–1.9 mm, apex acute to acuminate.

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