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.

typically (3–)5–9 per clump, 25–85(–150) cm;

vegetative culms inconspicuous, usually fewer than 10 leaves clustered at apex, not strikingly 3-ranked.

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 with adaxial hyaline area, not mottled abaxially, frequently puckered or cross-corrugated, summits truncate or U-shaped, rarely slightly V-shaped, at most shortly prolonged beyond collar, papillose (at 30X);

distal ligules 1.5–3.5 mm;

blades 2–4 per fertile culm, 10–28(–40) cm × 2–4 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.

erect, compact on tallest culms, dense, brown, 1.2–2.5(–3.5) cm × 8–12(–15) mm;

proximal internode 1.5–6(–10) mm; 2d internode 2–3.5 mm.

4–11, ± overlapping, ellipsoid or globose, 5.5–10 × 3.6–6.5 mm, base usually acute, apex rounded to broadly acute;

proximal bracts scalelike, often with bristle tips shorter than inflorescences.

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.

spreading to ascending-spreading, tan to brown at maturity, contrasting with scales while maturing, conspicuously at least 4–8-veined abaxially, 3–7-veined adaxially, broadly ovate, plano-convex, 3.5–4.5(–4.7) × (1.4–)1.6–2.4 mm, 0.45–0.6 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.25–0.45 mm wide, smooth;

beak golden to dark brown tinged at tip, flat, ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with golden to dark brown hyaline margin, distance from beak tip to achene 1.7–2.3 mm.

substipitate, 1.2–2.6 × 1–1.2 mm.

ovate to broadly elliptic, 1.3–1.6 × 0.9–1.2 mm, 0.4–0.55 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 dark brown, ovate to lanceolate, 2.4–3.5 mm, at least slightly shorter than perigynium beaks, narrower than perigynia, apex acute or somewhat obtuse.

= 36+IV.

= 50, 52, 54.