Flora of North America species comparison

10–90(–135) cm.

densely tufted, central or lateral, rarely erect, ascending, lax, or, occasionally, decumbent, slightly winged, 14–53 cm × 0.8–1 mm.

3–6 per culm;

sheaths tight, inner band hyaline, 1.8–2.5 cm, apex concave, glabrous;

ligules 0.6–2.5(–4.5) mm, rounded to ± acute;

blades plicate, 5–40 cm × 0.7–3.3(–3.8) mm, widest leaf 1–3.3(–3.8) mm wide.

basal sheaths brown or light brown;

sheaths 1–48 mm;

blades erect, ascending or lax, green, midrib well developed abaxially, lateral veins developed adaxially, flat, 14–36 cm × 1–10 mm, blades of overwintering leaves smooth abaxially.

0.9–17 cm × 1–8 mm, bract blade of distal lateral spikes linear, narrower than spikes, not concealing them (viewed from abaxial surface), widest bract blade of distalmost lateral spike 0.5–3.4 mm wide.

0.7–7.8 cm;

spikes (2–)3–8;

lateral spikes pistillate often with few staminate flowers proximally, 3–15.5 mm, sessile, staminate portion 7-flowered, to 8.2 mm, pistillate portion 3–32-flowered, 2.5–11 mm;

basal 2 spikes 1.7–42 mm apart;

terminal spike gynecandrous, 5–24 mm, staminate portion 2–17-flowered, 2–16.5 × 0.9–2 mm, pistillate portion 4–26-flowered, 2.6–9 × 4.9–9.1 mm.

peduncles of proximal absent; of terminal spike 0–1.7 cm.

4(–5) per culm;

lateral spikes scattered or distal 2 proximate, 15–18 × 3–4 mm;

terminal spike overtopping or proximate to proximal pistillate spikes, linear, 9–20 × 1.8–2.4 mm.

spreading to reflexed, castaneous to dark brown, 2–14-veined abaxially, 0–12-veined adaxially over achene, lanceolate to ovate, (2.65–)2.9–4.75 × 0.8–2.1 mm, (1.7–)1.8–3.2(–3.6) times as long as wide;

beak (0.85–)0.95–2 mm, (0.4–)0.45–0.86 length of body, serrulate, teeth (0–)0.15–0.5 mm.

4–18 per spike, closely overlapping, ratio of longer lateral spike length to perigynia number 0.8–1.7, aggregated, ascending, conspicuously (22–)25–32-veined, obovate to elliptic-obovate, 2.5–3.8(–4.1) × 1.3–2.2 mm, 1.5–1.9 times as long as achene bodies;

beak abruptly bent, 0.2–0.6 mm.

ovate-lanceolate to rhombic-ovate, 1.3–2.1 × 0.8–1.55 mm.

obovoid, 2.1–3.2 × 0.8–1.8 mm.

scales ovate, (1.4–)2.1–3.1 × 0.7–2.3 mm, apex acute to sometimes obtuse.

scales 2.8–3 × 1.4–1.6 mm, apex apiculate to aristate, awn to 1.5 mm.

scales ovate-lanceolate to ovate, 1.3–3.8 × 0.8–1.7 mm, base clavate, apex acute.

scales 1.8–3.2 × 1.4–1.8 mm, margins hyaline, apex acute or acuminate.

0.8–1.6(–2) mm.

1.8–2.2 mm.

= 58.

= 30, 32, 34, 36.