Flora of North America species comparison

15–120 cm;

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

6–34 cm, scabrous distally;

bases weakly or not fibrous.

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.

blades pale green or glaucous, equaling or usually exceeding stems, 1.8–3.8 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous abaxially, glabrous or scabrous adaxially.

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.

with both staminate and pistillate spikes;

peduncles of basal spikes erect, short, stout;

peduncles of terminal staminate spikes 2–2.5 mm;

proximal nonbasal bracts leaflike, equaling or slightly exceeding inflorescences.

(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.

proximal pistillate spikes 2–6 (basal spikes 1–4);

cauline spikes overlapping, with 1–4 perigynia;

terminal staminate spikes 5.8–12.7 × 1.5–2.2 mm.

(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.

green, often with reddish brown tinge, 12–15veined, conspicuous to at least mid body, ellipsoid, 4–5.3 × 1.4–2.2 mm;

beak often bent, occasionally straight, pale green, 0.8–1.9 mm, ciliate-serrulate, apical teeth 0.2–0.5 mm.

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

brown, ellipsoid, obtusely trigonous in cross section, 2.1–2.6 × 1.3–2.1 mm.

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.

pistillate scales reddish brown, with similarly colored or narrow white margins, ovate, 3.6–6 × 1.2–2.2 mm, apex cuspidate to acuminate (awned on some basal spikes); staminate scales lanceolate, 3.7–5.9 × 1.4–2.2 mm, apex acute to acuminate.

2.3–3.3 mm.

3.

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