Flora of North America species comparison

solitary or not, erect, 50–130 cm.

10–45 cm, smooth to scabrous distally;

bases (remnants of old leaves) slightly or not at all fibrous.

4–7;

basal sheaths brownish;

sheath of distal leaf 3–21 cm;

ligules rounded to triangular, 6–28 mm;

blades 30–80 cm × 6–13 mm.

blades pale to bright green, shorter to longer than culms, 0.8–2.5 mm wide, herbaceous, smooth to scabrous abaxially, papillose to scabrous adaxially.

6–40 cm;

peduncles of proximal spikes 1–13 cm, basal 2 peduncles 2–17 cm apart; of terminal spikes 1–12 cm, shorter than to somewhat exceeding the distal pistillate spike;

bracts leafy, sheath 1–9 cm;

blades 20–70 cm × 4–11 mm.

with both staminate and pistillate spikes;

peduncles of staminate spikes 0.4–9.9 mm;

proximal nonbasal bracts leaflike, shorter than inflorescences.

proximal pistillate spikes 2–6, the distal usually ± crowded, ascending, densely 8–90-flowered, usually cylindric, 2–8 × 1.5–3 cm;

terminal staminate spikes 1–2, 2–10 cm × 2–5 mm.

proximal pistillate spikes 1–4 (basal spikes 0);

cauline spikes overlapping, proximal 2 spikes usually separated by less than 7 mm, with 4–14 perigynia; staminate spikes 5–14 × 0.5–1.8 mm.

ascending to spreading, strongly 17–25-veined, sessile, lance-ovoid, 12–18.5 × 3.8–6 mm, shiny, glabrous;

beak conic, 6–9 mm.

pale green, veinless, ellipsoid, 2.3–3.3 × 0.8–1.2 mm, longer than wide;

beak straight, pale green, 0.6–1.1 mm, weakly ciliate-serrulate, apical teeth 0.1–0.4 mm.

stipitate, rhombic, concave faces, angles thickened, prominently knobbed with hard, nipplelike points, 3–4.5 × (2.2–)2.4–3.4 mm;

style same texture as achene.

brown, ellipsoid, acutely trigonous in cross section, 1.2–1.7 × 0.7–1.3 mm.

scales 3–9 veined, lanceolate, 6–13 × 1.8–3.2 mm, apex acute to awned, awn rough, to 5.5 mm.

3, 3.5–7 mm.

1.5–2.7 mm.

pistillate scales pale to dark reddish brown, with narrow white margins, lanceolate to ovate or obovate, 2.2–3.4 × 0.4–1.8 mm, equaling or exceeding perigynia, apex usually acuminate, sometimes acute or mucronate; staminate scales lanceolate to ovate, 2.8–6 × 0.6–1.9 mm, apex acute to acuminate.

3.