Flora of North America species comparison

15–120 cm;

vegetative culms few, inconspicuous, usually fewer than 15 leaves, not strikingly 3-ranked.

reclining or drooping, 19–51 cm × 0.2–0.7 mm.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, summits U-shaped or sometimes prolonged to 2 mm beyond collar and rounded, smooth;

distal ligules 2.2–3.5 mm;

blades 3–5 per fertile culm, 12–30 cm × 1.5–3.5 mm.

basal sheaths purple;

nonbasal sheaths with traces of purple, 7–40 mm;

blades erect, ascending, or decumbent, green, 17–45 cm × (2–)3–6(–7) mm.

open, brown, (1.3–)2.5–5(–6.5) cm × 5–18 mm;

proximal internode (3–)6–13(–23) mm; 2d internode 2–12 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike or bristlelike, shorter than inflorescences.

spikes (3–)4(–5) per culm, scattered;

peduncle of lateral pistillate spikes slender, drooping, 8–11 cm, distal peduncle shortest;

bracts reduced, 0.6–1.5 cm.

(3–)4–7, 5–7 on larger culms, distant, distinct, ovoid to ellipsoid, 7–17(–24) × 4–8(–12) mm, base attenuate or rarely rounded, apex acute to rounded;

terminal spike usually with conspicuous staminate base.

(10–)15–40(–45) per spike, ascending-spreading, green or reddish brown, veinless or faintly and irregularly 1–5-veined adaxially, orbiculate or broadly ovate, plano-convex, (2.6–)3.4–4.8(–5.2) × (2–)2.3–3.2 mm, 0.5–0.6 mm thick, 1.2–1.8 times as long as wide, nearly leathery, margin flat, including wing 0.3–0.8 mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least distally, smooth;

beak pale green or brown at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with gold or reddish brown-hyaline margin, distance from beak tip to achene 1.5–2.4 mm.

2–6 per spike, overlapping, finely veined, orbicular, 2.8–3.2 × 1.8–2.1 mm;

beak tapering.

slightly bent from achene.

orbiculate to broadly ovate, 1.5–2.2 × 1.3–1.8 mm, 0.5–0.6 mm thick.

orbicular, 1.8–2 × 1.8–2 mm, sides slightly concave at maturity, tightly fitting in perigynia.

scales white-hyaline, tinged reddish brown, usually with whitish, pale gold, or green midstripe, broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 2.6–4.3 mm, as long as to 0.7–0.9 mm shorter than perignyium beaks, narrower than perigynia, margins thin, sometimes involute, apex mostly acute.

spikes the proximal basal, 7–12 × 4–6 mm.;

pistillate scales keeled, 2.5–3.7 × 1.5–2 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, purple outward, apex aristate.

spike 1, linear, long-pedunculate, 0.7–2 × 2–4 mm.;

staminate scales obtuse, 3–5 × 0.8–1.1 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline and purple.

3–3.2 mm.

= 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68.

= 60.