Flora of North America species comparison

10–90(–135) cm.

to 25–60(–100) cm, smooth.

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.

2–6 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.

proximal bracts shorter than or exceeding inflorescences;

spikes oblong or clavate, 10–25 × 6–8 mm;

proximal spikes separate, usually pendent, often long-pendunculate;

distal ones overlapping, erect, contiguous, short-pendunculate;

lateral 3–5 spikes pistillate;

terminal spike gynecandrous, 1/4 or less staminate.

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.

ascending, light to dark brown with light brown margins, veinless, obovate or circular, 3.5–4 × 2–3 mm, apex abruptly beaked, smooth;

beak 0.3–0.5 mm, shallowly or deeply bidentate, smooth.

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

filling proximal 1/2 or less of perigynia.

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

scales light to dark brown, margins hyaline, lanceolate, typically equaling or longer, sometimes shorter and narrower than perigynia, midvein dark, same color as body, inconspicuous, frequently raised, prominent, apex acute to short-mucronate.

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

0.8–1.6(–2) mm.

= 58.