Flora of North America species comparison

solitary or not, erect, 50–130 cm.

easily compressed, to 120 cm × 7 mm, scabrous.

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.

sheaths usually all with blades, green;

fronts rugose, indistinctly linearly veined, apex colorless, fragile, convex, not forming extension, erose;

ligules acute, 10 mm, free limb to 0.8 mm;

blades not epistomic, to 100 cm × 15 mm.

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.

densely spicate, elongate, cylindric, with 15–25 distinguishable branches, 5–15 × 4 cm;

proximal internode to 10 mm.

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.

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 brown with red-brown veins, 15-veined abaxially, 7-veined adaxially, to 6 × 2 mm, base distended proximally, cordate;

stipe to 0.4 mm;

beak to 3.5 mm, serrulate.

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.

ovate, to 2 × 1.5 mm;

stalk to 0.3 mm;

persistent style base cylindric.

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.

hyaline.