Flora of North America species comparison

10–90(–135) cm.

20–120 cm.

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.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline or green-and-white mottled, papillose, summits U-shaped, shortly prolonged beyond collar;

distal ligules 2–3 mm;

blades 3–6 per fertile culm, green, without auricles, 8–30 cm × 2–4 mm, pliable.

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.

open, usually with widely spaced spikes, flexible, brown or greenish brown, 1.5–8 cm × 7–15 mm;

proximal internode 5–25 mm; 2d internode 4–12 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike, sometimes bristlelike to 1 cm.

3–7(–11), usually distant, oblong to ellipsoid, 7–25 × 5–7 mm, base clavate to attenuate, apex usually rounded.

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.

erect-ascending, green or brown, conspicuously 4–9-veined abaxially, veinless or conspicuously unequally 4–8-veined adaxially, ovate, plano-convex or concavo-convex, 3.3–5 × (1.5–)1.7–2.5 mm, 0.6–0.8 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.2–0.4 mm wide, smooth or ciliate-serrulate at least on distal body;

beak white or brown, white margin at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture inconspicuous or with white margin, distance from beak tip to achene (1.4–)1.7–2.5 mm.

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

dark brown at maturity, ovoid-orbicular, 1.3–2.1 × 1.2–1.7 mm, 0.5–0.6 mm thick, 1–1.4(–1.5) times as long as wide.

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

scales usually reddish brown, or green or gold in shade forms, with 3-veined green or brown midstripe, ovate, 4–5 mm, equaling, ± covering perigynia, apex acute to acuminate.

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.

= 82, 84.