Flora of North America species comparison

solitary or not, erect, 20–100(–130) cm.

purplish or reddish, rarely brown at base.

4–8;

basal sheaths reddish to brownish;

sheath of distal leaf (1.3–)1.7–10(–25) cm;

ligules triangular, 3.5–18 mm;

blades 15–64 cm × 4–15 mm.

basal sheaths not fibrous;

sheath fronts membranous;

sheaths and larger leaves distinctly septate-nodulose;

blades V-shaped in cross section when young, glabrous.

4–40 cm;

peduncles of proximal spikes 0.5–20 cm, basal 2 peduncles 1–20 cm apart of terminal spike 0.5–6(–7) cm, shorter than or exceeding distal pistillate spike by 2 cm or less;

bracts leafy, sheaths 0.5–15 cm, blades 13–55 cm × 3–11 mm.

racemose, with 2–6(–9) spikes;

proximal bracts leaflike, sheathless or sheath less than 4 mm, shorter or longer than diam. of stem;

lateral spikes pistillate or the distal 1(–5) staminate or androgynous, globose, ovoid, or cylindric, pedunculate, prophyllate;

terminal spike staminate.

proximal pistillate spikes (1–)2–5, distal spikes usually ± crowded, ascending, densely (4–)8–80-flowered, ovoid to cylindric, 1.5–6.5 × 1.3–3 cm;

terminal staminate spikes 1(–2), 1.5–8.5 cm × 1–5 mm.

ascending, strongly 13–22-veined, ± stipitate, lance-ovoid, 11–19 × 3–6 mm, shiny, glabrous;

beak conic, 6–10 mm.

ascending to spreading, distinctly 15–20-veined, sometimes stipitate, inflated, ovate, ± round in cross section, 10–20 mm, base cuneate to rounded, apex tapering or abruptly beaked, glabrous or sparsely hairy;

beak conspicuously bidentate, teeth not more than 1 mm.

stipitate, rhomboid, flat to concave faces, angles smoothly thickened, not pointed or nobbed, 3–4(–4.5) × 1.7–2.6(–2.8) mm;

style same texture as achene.

trigonous, smaller than bodies of perigynia;

style persistent.

scales 1–7-veined, lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, 6–15 × 1–2.7 mm, apex acute to awned, awns rough, to 6 mm.

3, 3–5.5 mm.

pistillate scales with apex obtuse to acuminate, often awned.

3.