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.

25–80 cm;

vegetative culms few, inconspicuous, usually fewer than 15 leaves, 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 conspicuously green-veined nearly to collar, narrow hyaline band or sharp Y-shaped region at collar, adaxially firm, summits U-shaped, sheaths sometimes finely papillose;

distal ligules 2.4–5.6 mm;

blades 2–5 per fertile culm, 10–25 cm × 2–5 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 to open, green or brown, 1.5–4 cm × 10–20 mm;

proximal internode 2–12 mm; 2d internode 3–10 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike, with bristle tips shorter than inflorescences.

3–6, distant, distinct, ellipsoid to ovoid-globose, 8–20 × 6–10 mm, base rounded or short-acute, apex broadly obtuse 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.

15–80 in larger spikes, spreading, light to dark brown, inconspicuously or shortly veined on each face, broadly elliptic or orbiculate to sharply obovate, flat except over achene, 4–6.1 × 3–4.4 mm, 0.45–0.6 mm thick, sometimes nearly leathery, base rounded, margin flat, including wing 0.7–1.5 mm wide, smooth;

beak spreading, light brown at tip, flat, 0.7–1.6(–1.8) mm, 1/3 length of body, ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with hyaline, pale brown margin, distance from beak tip to achene 2–3 mm.

substipitate, 1.2–2.6 × 1–1.2 mm.

oblong, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.2 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 white-hyaline or brown with pale brown or green 1-veined midstripe, lanceolate, 3.3–4 mm, as long as and narrower than perignyia, apex acute or obtuse.

= 33+III.

= 50, 52, 54.

= 68, 70.