Flora of North America species comparison

20–90 cm;

vegetative culms inconspicuous with few leaves clustered at apex.

35–75 cm.

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.

sheath summits U-shaped, sometimes prolonged to 2 mm beyond collar;

distal ligules 2.5–8 mm;

blades 3–5 per fertile culm; 15–45 cm × 2–3(–4) mm.

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.

ascending, dense, green to gold or brown, (1–)1.4–2.5 cm × 9–17 mm;

proximal internode 1.5–4 mm; 2d internode 1–4 mm;

proximal 2–3 bracts erect to ascending, leaflike, the proximal longer than inflorescence, often more than 2 mm wide, base ± surrounding culm.

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

5–11, ± individually indistinct, ovoid to broadly ovoid, 7–13 × 5–9 mm, base rounded to acute, apex truncate to acute.

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.

ascending to ascending-spreading, green, gold, or sometimes coppery, conspicuously 0–11-veined abaxially, conspicuously 0–8-veined adaxially, ovate to lanceolate, usually flat, 3.5–5 × 1.3–1.75 mm, 0.3–0.5 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.2–0.3 mm wide;

beak usually gold or red-brown at tip, usually flat, winged, ± ciliate-serrulate or, sometimes, cylindric, unwinged, ± entire for 0.5–0.6 mm, (1.4–)1.7–2.5 mm, abaxial suture inconspicuous or with white margin, distance from beak tip to achene.

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

stipitate, ovate to obovate, (1.2–)1.5–1.9 × 0.75–1(–1.2) mm, 0.3–0.4 mm thick.

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.

scales pale gold to red-brown, with pale to green midstripe, lanceolate to ovate, 3.3–4.8 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, margin sometimes white, 0.1–0.2 mm wide, apex acuminate to awned.

= 68, 70.