Flora of North America species comparison

15–38 cm.

not easily compressed, angles obtuse, to 80 cm × 2 mm, glabrous.

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.

sheaths of proximal 2–3 leaves bladeless, fronts smooth, indistinctly linearly veined, forming tubular extension distal to sheath-blade junction, apex colorless, fragile, U-shaped, entire;

ligules obtuse, 4 mm, free limb to 3 mm;

blades not epistomic, to 75 cm × 5 mm.

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.

densely spicate, elongate, with 15–20 distinguishable branches, 5–10 × 2.5 cm;

proximal internode to 10 mm.

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.

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.

pale brown with red-brown veins, 10–12-veined abaxially, 7-veined adaxially, to 5 × 1.7 mm, base distended proximally, cordate;

stipe to 0.2 mm;

beak to 2.5 mm, serrulate.

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

broadly ovate, 1.7 × 1.5 mm;

stalk to 0.15 mm;

persistent style base cylindric, 0.15 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.

pale brown with hyaline margins.

= 64