Flora of North America species comparison

acutely angled, 40–150 cm, scabrous.

to 30 cm.

basal sheaths red-brown or brown;

sheaths of proximal leaves bladeless, glabrous, fronts red-brown to copper-brown, spots absent, indistinctly ladder-fibrillose, apex U-shaped;

blades hypostomic, abaxially papillose.

blades 1.5–3.5 mm wide.

1–12 cm, proximal internodes 5–50 mm;

peduncles of proximal spikes to 5 cm;

proximal bracts with blade 0–15(–40) mm, sheath cylindric, (3–)4–22 mm, mouth 0.5–1.2 mm wide.

usually pendent; staminate 1–3, base cuneate or attenuate.

(2–)3–4(–5);

lateral spikes pistillate, the proximal inclined or pendent, 6–21 × 3–6 mm;

terminal spike gynecandrous, rarely staminate, pendent, 8–10 × 3.5–5 mm.

divergent, pale brown, inflated, loosely enclosing achenes, obovoid, dull, apex rounded, obtuse or truncate, glabrous.

ascending, pale brown proximally, black or dark brown distally, veins indistinct, lanceolate, 3.3–5.5 × 0.9–1.3(–1.4) mm, margins ciliate, glabrous;

beak indistinct.

constricted on one or both margins or lacking constrictions;

style base straight.

obovoid, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1 mm.

bract longer than inflorescence, 3–6 mm wide.

scales pale to copper-brown, midvein reaching apex, broad, apex of body retuse, aristate.

scales black or brown with pale, weak midvein and very narrowly scarious margins, ovate, 2.8–4.2 × 1.4–2.4 mm, apex obtuse to acuminate.

scales brown to black with pale midvein and scarious margins, oblong-obovate to obovate, 3–5 × 1.4–1.8 mm.

1.2–2.7 mm.