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.

22–35 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.

blades involute, bristlelike, to 17 cm × 0.5–1 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.

proximal bract sheaths 4–10 mm;

pistillate spikes 6–7 × 1.5–2.3 mm;

staminate spikes 4.5–7 × 0.7–0.9 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.

brown to black when fully mature, 2.2–2.9 × 0.9–1.1(–1.2) mm;

beak 0.5–0.7 mm.

substipitate, 1.2–2.6 × 1–1.2 mm.

broadly ellipsoid-obovoid, 1.6–1.9 × 0.8–1.1 mm.

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.

pistillate scales white-hyaline or pale brown with hyaline margins and green or brown midvein, oblong-ovate to broadly ovate, 2.1–3.5 × 0.9–1.4 mm, apex acute to subobtuse, slightly shorter than to about equaling perigynia;

staminate scales white-hyaline, oblong-ovate, 3.5–6.5 × 0.8–1.8 mm, apex acute to subobtuse.

2–2.2 mm.

= 50, 52, 54.