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.

(11–)15–55 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.

sheath summits U-shaped or rounded, occasionally prolonged to 2.5 mm beyond collar;

distal ligules 0.5–2.5 mm;

blades 3–5 per fertile culm, 5–18 cm × (1.1–)1.5–2.6(–3.1) 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.

dense or loosely aggregated, gold to medium brown or occasionally dark brown, 1.1–2.4 cm × 6.3–14 mm;

proximal internode (1.5–)2.5–9.5 mm; 2d internode 1–3 mm;

proximal bracts bristlelike.

4–9, individually distinct or indistinct, usually ovoid, (4.5–)6–10 × (2–)4–6 mm, base usually acute, apex rounded to acute.

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.

ascending to ascending-spreading, straw colored to light brown with green distal margins, conspicuously 0–5-veined abaxially, conspicuously 0–4-veined adaxially, at most 1 vein reaching top of achene, lance-ovate to ovate, plano-convex or flat, usually constricted near base when dry, 2.1–3.6 × 0.8–1.4 mm, 0.4–0.5 mm thick, margin flat, 0.05–0.15(–0.2) mm wide, entire, not usually extending to distal body and beak;

beak gold to dark brown at tip, cylindric, unwinged, abaxial suture conspicuously white-margined, or occasionally inconspicuous, distance from beak tip to achene 1–1.6 mm, entire for at least 0.4 mm.

substipitate, 1.2–2.6 × 1–1.2 mm.

elliptic to quadrate, 1.1–1.4 × 0.7–1 mm, 0.3–0.5 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 gold to dark brown, with whitish to green midstripe, ovate, 1.9–3.5 mm, shorter or slightly longer than perigynia and ± equal in width, margin white, 0–0.2(–0.4) mm wide, apex obtuse to acute.

= 50, 52, 54.

= 82.