Flora of North America species comparison

20–90 cm;

vegetative culms inconspicuous with few leaves clustered at apex.

trigonous, angles obtuse, 4–35 cm, scabrous distally.

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.

basal;

sheath fronts with apex concave to V-shaped, glabrous;

blades 7–25 cm × 1.5–3 mm, shorter than culm.

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.

2–4 cm;

proximal bracts to 5 × 1 mm;

spikes crowded;

lateral spikes 0.5–1.5 cm × 4–5 mm;

terminal spikes 1–2 cm × 4 mm.

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

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.

yellow-brown, often red-brown at apex, sides convex, 2.5–2.8 × 1.5 mm, hairs purple-brown (hair-base bulbous);

beak red-brown, conic, thickened.

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

brown, sessile, mitrate, obovoid, 2–2.2 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.

brown with yellow-brown midrib, 3-veined, equaling perigynia, apex acuminate to retuse, with scabrous awn to 2 mm.

2–3 mm.

= 68, 70.

= 58, 62, 64, 66, 68 (Europe, Japan).