Flora of North America species comparison

curved, bluntly trigonous, 2–12 cm, smooth-angled distally.

10–90 cm.

basal sheaths brown;

ligules 0.3–0.6 mm;

blades involute, ± equaling culms, 0.5–1.5 mm wide.

blades 1–3.5 mm wide.

0.5–1.2 cm;

spikes (3–)5–7, essentially indistinguishable in dense hemispheric head.

3–12(–22) cm;

proximal internodes 10–60(–100) mm;

peduncles of proximal spikes to 8 cm;

proximal bracts with blades 5–140 mm, sheaths cylindric, 5–25(–35) mm, mouth 0.9–1.5 mm wide.

3–8;

lateral spikes androgynous or pistillate, rarely some entirely staminate, the proximal inclined or pendent, 5–30 × 3–7 mm;

terminal spike staminate or androgynous, 10–28 × 1.8–4 mm.

light brown proximally, dark brown distally, usually strongly 8–11-veined abaxially, 4–11-veined adaxially, not or little inflated, narrowly elliptic, 2.9–3.9 × 1–1.5(–1.6) mm, leathery, dull to satiny;

stipe 0.2–0.4 mm;

beak poorly defined, 0.4–0.9 mm, smooth or slightly scabrous-margined.

ascending, pale yellow proximally, brown or black distally, 3–9-veined, lanceolate, 3.5–5.5 × 1.1–2.4 mm, margins ciliate-serrulate distally, apex tapered, shortly setose, sometimes setae confined to veins, or subglabrous;

beak indistinct, to 0.5(–1) mm.

obovoid, 1.7–2.2 × 1–1.3 mm.

scales brown to dark brown, with narrow whitish hyaline margins, ovate, conspicuously shorter than perigynia, apex ± acute to acuminate, body shiny.

scales brown to black, oblong-obovate, 3–5.8 × 1.1–2 mm, apex obtuse to acute, sometimes shortly awned.

0.9–1.4 mm.

1.5–3 mm.

scales brown or black with hyaline margins, oblong-ovate, 3.1–6.2 × 1–3 mm.