Flora of North America species comparison

20–150 cm.

30–75 cm.

basal sheaths red-brown or brown;

sheaths of proximal leaves glabrous, fronts with indistinct spots, veinless, apex U-shaped;

blades usually amphi-stomic, papillose on both surfaces.

sheaths adaxially often tinged brown, summits U-shaped;

distal ligules 0.5–2(–3) mm;

blades 4–6 per fertile culm, 17–45 cm × 2.5–4.5 mm.

proximal bract longer than inflorescence.

open or dense, greenish brown to gold, 2.5–4 cm × 9–20 mm;

proximal internode 4–16 mm; 2d internode 2–7.5 mm;

proximal bracts leaflike, longer than inflorescences.

erect;

proximal 2–6 spikes pistillate;

terminal (1–)2–4 spikes staminate.

3–8, distant, distinct, fusiform to broadly ovoid or obovoid, 11–21 × 6–9 mm, base acute to attenuate, apex truncate to tapered.

ascending, veinless, somewhat flattened, loosely enclosing achenes, ellipsoid or obovoid, dull, apex obtuse or acute, papillose.

appressed to ascending, green or gold, usually inconspicuously veined on each face, narrowly ovate to ovate, flat except over achene or ± plano-convex, 5.4–7.2(–7.5) × 2–2.8(–3) mm, 0.5–0.6(–0.7) mm thick, 2.4–2.7 times as long as wide, margin flat, including wing 0.45–0.8 mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least distally;

beak red-gold to red-brown, sometimes white-hyaline at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture usually inconspicuous, distance from beak tip to achene 2.2–3.6 mm.

not constricted, glossy.

oblong to broadly ovate, 1.9–2.7 × 1.4–2 mm, 0.4–0.5 mm thick.

scales red-brown to purple-brown, apex obtuse or acute, awnless.

scales red-brown, red-gold, or gold, with pale brown or whitish midstripe, lanceolate to broadly ovate, 4.3–6.2 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, margin white, (0.1–)0.2–0.3(–0.5) mm wide, apex acute to acuminate.

= 72–80.