Flora of North America species comparison

20–90 cm;

vegetative culms inconspicuous with few leaves clustered at apex.

10–45 cm, smooth to scabrous distally;

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

sheaths white-hyaline or green-veined, sometimes papillose, summits U-shaped, not distally expanded;

distal ligules 2.2–6 mm;

blades 3–4 per fertile culm, 11–25 cm × 1.7–4.2 mm.

blades pale to bright green, shorter to longer than culms, 0.8–2.5 mm wide, herbaceous, smooth to scabrous abaxially, papillose to scabrous adaxially.

mostly dense, brown, 1.1–3 cm × 5–14 mm;

proximal internode 1–4 mm; 2d internode 1.4–3.4 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike, with bristle tips shorter than inflorescences.

with both staminate and pistillate spikes;

peduncles of staminate spikes 0.4–9.9 mm;

proximal nonbasal bracts leaflike, shorter than inflorescences.

3–10, usually overlapping, ovoid to globose, 4–10 × 3–7 mm, base rounded or truncate, apex rounded.

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

cauline spikes overlapping, proximal 2 spikes usually separated by less than 7 mm, with 4–14 perigynia; staminate spikes 5–14 × 0.5–1.8 mm.

ascending to ascending-spreading, light to dark reddish brown, conspicuously 3+-veined abaxially, faintly or basally 1–3-veined adaxially, winged to base, ovate or elliptic, plano-convex, 2.5–3.8 × (1–)1.2–2 mm, 0.35–0.45 mm thick, 1.9–2.5 times as long as wide, margin flat, including wing 0.2–0.5 mm wide, 1b ciliate-serrulate at least distally;

beak reddish brown at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with reddish brown-hyaline margin, distance from beak tip to achene 1.2–2.2 mm.

pale green, veinless, ellipsoid, 2.3–3.3 × 0.8–1.2 mm, longer than wide;

beak straight, pale green, 0.6–1.1 mm, weakly ciliate-serrulate, apical teeth 0.1–0.4 mm.

ovate or elliptic, 1–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm, 0.3–0.4 mm thick.

brown, ellipsoid, acutely trigonous in cross section, 1.2–1.7 × 0.7–1.3 mm.

scales reddish brown, usually with green or whitish to brown midstripe, lanceolate, 2.5–3.5 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, apex acuminate or acute.

pistillate scales pale to dark reddish brown, with narrow white margins, lanceolate to ovate or obovate, 2.2–3.4 × 0.4–1.8 mm, equaling or exceeding perigynia, apex usually acuminate, sometimes acute or mucronate; staminate scales lanceolate to ovate, 2.8–6 × 0.6–1.9 mm, apex acute to acuminate.

1.5–2.7 mm.

3.

= 68, 70.