Flora of North America species comparison

dark maroon at base; flowering stems 0.5–1.1 mm thick, 20–90 cm, much longer than leaves at maturity, glabrous, but often scabrous within inflorescence.

31–115 cm × 0.9–2 mm, smooth, serrulate, or scabriduous at mid height.

sheaths glabrous or short-pubescent, basal few bladeless and maroon, others grading from maroon to green on back, pale brown-hyaline, red dotted and sometimes pubescent near apex;

blades flat, 3–9 mm wide, glabrous, minutely scabrous on margins distally.

ligule of distal leaf (2–)3.5–7.1 mm, 2–3.9 times as long as wide;

blades 1.8–5.9 mm wide, widest blade 2.3–5.9 mm wide.

peduncles of lateral spikes slender, to 40 mm, equaling spikes or usually somewhat shorter, scabrous;

peduncle of terminal spike to 13 mm, glabrous or scabrous;

proximal bracts shorter than inflorescences;

sheaths 20–25 mm;

blades 3–4 mm wide.

(33–)40–89(–103) mm;

proximal internode 6–32 mm;

proximal bracts 14–43 mm, awn 10–39 mm;

spikes 5–9, usually gynecandrous;

proximal spikes usually with 1–4 staminate and (14–)18–31(–40) pistillate flowers, 12–22(–25) × 3.9–6.5 mm;

terminal spikes usually with 1–5 staminate and 14–28 pistillate flowers, 9.6–16 × 3.4–6.2 mm.

green, usually red dotted, 2-ribbed and finely 8–12-veined, veins more obvious near base, ellipsoid to oblong-ovoid, loosely enveloping achenes, 2–3.7 × 1.3–1.6 mm, membranous, acute at base, tapering gradually to acute beakless apex, glabrous.

erect to appressed-erect, green to brown, prominently to weakly 3–7-veined abaxially, prominently to weakly 0–3(–6)-veined adaxially, narrowly lanceolate, 3.4–5.2 × 1.1–1.4 mm, 2.9–4 times as long as wide, apex abruptly contracted to gradually tapering;

beak 1.5–2.5 mm, 0.4–0.53 times as long as perigynia, margins serrulate, apex bidentulate, teeth (0.2–)0.3–1 mm, (0.06–)0.09–0.2 times as long as perigynia.

substipitate, 1.2–2.6 × 1–1.2 mm.

1.5–2.1 × 0.9–1.3 mm, 1.3–1.8 times as long as wide.

spikes 2–5, 1 per node, well separated, drooping at maturity, pistillate with 10–45 perigynia attached 2 mm apart, linear, 10–70 × 2–3.5 mm.

spike gynecandrous, 10–60 × 1–3 mm.

scales white-hyaline tinged with chestnut, broad green midrib often red dotted, sometimes scabrous, ovate to oblong, shorter than mature perigynia, apex rounded or cuspidate with ciliate awn less than 1 mm, otherwise glabrous.

scales with whitish to castaneous margins, (2.2–)2.5–4.1 × 1.4–2 mm, body 2.2–2.9(–3.1) mm, apex acuminate to short-awned to 1.5 mm.

scales with whitish to castaneous margins, 3.1–4.3 × 1–1.5 mm, apex acute to short-awned.

1.3–1.8 mm.

1.8–2.5 mm.

= 50, 52, 54.