Flora of North America species comparison

15–38 cm.

round or trigonous, filiform, wiry, angles proximal to spike blunt or sharp, 5–35 cm, shorter than or longer than leaves.

sheath summits white-hyaline, green ribbed, U-shaped, occasionally prolonged to 4 mm distal to collar;

distal ligules 1–3(–3.5) mm;

blades 2–4 per fertile culm, 4.5–18 cm × 1.5–2.5 mm.

basal leaf sheaths fibrillose when old;

blades yellow-green or bright green, involute-cylindric, quill-shaped, 6–25 cm, 0.3–0.7 mm wide near base.

nodding, dense, dark or medium brown, 1–1.2 cm × 5.5–10 mm;

proximal internode 1.3–3 mm; 2d internode 0.6–1.5 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike to bristlelike.

3–6, usually individually indistinct, ovoid to broadly ovoid, 4.5–6.5 × 2.5–5.5 mm, base and apex acute to rounded;

terminal spike without conspicuous staminate base.

7–30 × 3–7 mm, staminate portion 4–14 mm.

ascending-spreading to spreading, gold to dark brown, conspicuously 0–7-veined abaxially, conspicuously 0–4-veined adaxially, ovate, plano-convex, 2.6–3.2 × 0.9–1.3 mm, 0.5–0.65 mm thick, margin unwinged, pithlike tissue usually present in proximal perigynia walls;

beak medium or dark brown at tip, often with white-hyaline, cylindric to somewhat flat, abaxial suture with conspicuous white margin, distance from beak tip to achene 1.2–1.6 mm, entire.

(2–)5–18, appressed to ascending, white to gold, obovate to orbiculate, 1.9–4.8 × 1.3–2 mm, body conspicuously hirsute or pubescent, at least distal 1/4 (occasionally only proximal to beak);

beak 0–0.8 mm, style base often conspicuously exserted from beak;

rachilla present.

ovate to obovate, 1.2–1.5 × 0.8–1 mm, 0.4–0.5 mm thick.

obovate to elliptic, 1.5–3.3 × 1.1–1.9 mm.

scales dark brown, usually with pale or green midstripe, ovate, 1.5–2.5(–3.5) mm, usually shorter, narrower than perigynia, margin occasionally hyaline gold, to 0.4 mm wide, apex obtuse or acute.

pistillate scales pale red-brown with white or gold margins, broadly obovate, 2.3–4.5(–6.5) × 1.7–4 mm, shorter or longer than perigynia, apex obtuse to short-awned.

scales red-brown with broad, white margins, broadly obovate, apex obtuse.

± black.

= 64