Flora of North America species comparison

to 90 cm × 2 mm, scabrous.

brown at base, densely covered with brown fibrillose remains of previous year’s leaves; flowering stems 30–90 cm, longer than leaves at maturity, 0.5–0.7 mm thick, glabrous but finely scabrous within inflorescence.

sheath fronts spotted red-brown, veinless, plane, apex truncate to convex, membranous;

ligule rounded, to 1 mm, free limb to 0.2 mm;

blades to 75 cm × 6 mm, shorter than flowering stem.

sheaths glabrous, basal ones tinged with brown and all bearing blades, green to hyaline on back, white-hyaline on front;

blades flat, 2.5–4 mm wide, finely scabrous on adaxial surface and margins, glabrous on abaxial surface.

loosely paniculate, 4–12 cm × 15–20 mm, with 10–20 branches proximal branches distinct; the proximal internode to 25 mm;

bracts scalelike, not conspicuous, the awn, when present, 15–50 mm.

peduncles of lateral spikes slender, 20–60 mm, equaling or somewhat longer than spikes, finely scabrous;

peduncle of terminal spike 5–15 mm, scabrous;

proximal bracts equaling inflorescences or more often shorter;

sheaths 3–5 mm or rarely longer;

blades 1–1.5 mm wide.

dark brown-black, 3–5-veined abaxially, 0–3-veined adaxially, body ovate to lanceolate, 3–4.5 × 1.5–2 mm, base rounded to cordate, conspicuous basal spongy tissue somewhat distending perigynium;

beak 1–1.5 mm.

shiny tan to golden green, 2-ribbed, but otherwise veinless, closely enveloping achene at maturity, ovoid-ellipsoid, 4.5–6.5 × 1.5–2 mm, membranous, base acute, apex abruptly contracted to beak, glabrous;

beak bidentate, narrowly tubular, nearly as long as body, finely scabrous on edge, teeth hyaline, 1 mm.

red-brown, ovate, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm, glossy;

style base cylindric.

substipitate, 2–2.5 × 1.7–1.8 mm.

hyaline, red-brown or pale brown, margins colorless, broad, shining, apex acute or mucronate.

with prominent apiculus to 0.5 mm.

spikes 4–5, 1 per node;

proximal spikes well separated, nodding or drooping at maturity, pistillate with 10–40 perigynia about 1 mm apart, cylindric, 10–35 × 8–10 mm;

distal spikes crowded near apex, sessile or nearly so, staminate or androgynous, linear, less than 20 mm.

spike staminate or rarely with a few perigynia at base, 10–20 × 1.5–2 mm.

scales pale hyaline tinged with chestnut, narrow midrib green, sometimes finely scabrous, ovate-oblong, shorter than mature perigynia, apex long-acuminate, glabrous.

= 42.