Flora of North America species comparison

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

reddish brown to dark maroon at base; flowering stems 20–70 cm, much longer than leaves at maturity, 1–1.7 mm thick, glabrous or sparsely pilose.

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 reddish brown, bladeless, pilose;

others grading from dark red to green on back, tan-hyaline on front, reddish brown dotted and usually pubescent at apex;

blades flat, 3–12 mm wide, usually pilose, more densely so abaxially, margins ciliate.

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 lateral spikes, when present, less than 10 mm, often pubescent;

proximal bracts usually shorter than inflorescence;

sheaths 5–50 mm;

blades 1.2–2 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.

pale green, blotched with dark maroon at base, dark maroon-brown distally, 2-ribbed and finely veined with to 20 veins, most conspicuous near base, loosely enveloping achene, ellipsoid, 3.7–5.3 × 1–2.2 mm, membranous, base acute, apex narrowing to beak, body covered with long, appressed to spreading hairs;

beak bidentate, 1 mm.

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

substipitate, 2–2.6 × 1.2–1.7 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 reddish brown with narrow white-hyaline margins and green midrib, broadly ovate, shorter than mature perigynia, apex obtuse to short-cuspidate, often pubescent on midrib and awn, ciliate distally.

1.5–2.5 mm.

spikes 2–5, 1 per node, usually crowded toward apex and overlapping staminate spike, erect, sessile or pedunculate, pistillate with 20–40 perigynia attached less than 1 mm apart, cylindric, 12–40 × 4–11 mm.

spike staminate, rarely gynecandrous, sessile or very short-pedunculate, 8–30 × 2–5.5 mm.

= 50, 52.