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.

23–37 cm.

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.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, summits U-shaped or rounded;

distal ligules 1–2.5 mm;

blades 2–4 per fertile culm, 7–13 cm × (1.5–)2–3 mm.

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.

open, brown or orange-brown, (1–)1.8–3 cm × 6–11 mm;

proximal internode 4.5–9 mm; 2d internode, when present, 2–7 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike or tipped with stout awn or bristle, shorter than inflorescences.

(1–)2–3, distant, distinct, narrowly oblanceloid to oblanceloid, (12–)14–22 × 5.5–7 mm, base attenuate, apex acute to rounded.

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.

appressed to appressed-ascending, green to gold, conspicuously 8–14-veined abaxially, conspicuously 4–8-veined adaxially, at least 3 adaxial veins longer than achene, lanceolate to ovate, plano-convex, 5.9–8.5 × 1.5–2.2 mm, (0.5–)0.6–0.7 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.3–0.5(–0.6) mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least distally;

beak red-brown or brown, often white-hyaline at tip, usually cylindric, unwinged, ± entire for 0.5–0.8 mm, occasionally flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture inconspicuous, distance from beak tip to achene (2.6–)3–4.1 mm.

substipitate, 1.2–2.6 × 1–1.2 mm.

ovate, elliptic, or obovate, (1.9–)2–3 × 1.1–1.5 mm, 0.4–0.7 mm thick.

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 reddish brown or gold, with pale gold midstripe, lanceolate, 4.5–5.8 mm, 3/4 length of and narrower than perigynia, margin white, 0–0.15 mm wide, apex acute.

scales with white-hyaline margin 0–0.2 mm wide.

= 50, 52, 54.