Flora of North America species comparison

15–120 cm;

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

14–30 cm.

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.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, summits U-shaped;

distal ligules (1–)2–2.5 mm;

blades 2–5(–8) per fertile culm, usually folded, 10.5–15 × 1–2.5 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.

dense or ± open, gold to brown, 1.4–3 cm × 5–11 mm;

proximal internode (2.5–)3.5–6 mm; 2d internode 0.8–3.5 mm;

proximal bracts usually bristlelike, shorter than 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.

4–9, aggregated or distant, individually indistinct or distinct, lanceloid to ovoid, 5–11 × 2.5–6 mm, base and apex acute to attenuate.

(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.

appressed-ascending to ascending, gold or whitish, boat-shaped with wings adaxially incurved, conspicuously (0–)5–10-veined abaxially, conspicuously 0–6-veined adaxially, lanceolate or occasionally ovate, plano-convex, 3.5–4.2 × 1–1.2 mm, 0.4–0.5(–0.6) mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.05–0.2 mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least on distal body;

beak gold to reddish or brown, white-hyaline at tip, cylindric, unwinged, entire for 0.3–0.6 mm, abaxial suture with conspicuous white margin, distance from beak tip to achene 1.5–2.2 mm, beak tip conspicuous in inflorescences.

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

ovate to obovate, 1.4–1.8 × 0.7–0.95 mm, 0.35–0.4 mm thick.

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.

scales gold to red-brown, often with whitish or green to gold midstripe or white tip, ovate to broadly ovate, (3–)3.5–5 mm, usually longer and wider than perignyium bodies, margin white, 0.1–0.3 mm wide, apex obtuse to acuminate.

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