Flora of North America species comparison

to 60 cm × 1.5 mm, scabrous.

9–30(–40) cm.

sheaths usually all with blades;

proximal 2–3 sheaths to 10–15 cm with reduced blades shorter than sheath, green, fronts herbaceous, prominently veined, not splitting, apex truncate, fronts of distal sheaths hyaline, rugose, indistinctly linearly veined, apex colorless, hyaline, convex, entire;

ligules obtuse, 1.5 mm, free limb to 0.1 mm;

blades not clustered at base, not epistomic, to 40 cm × 5 mm.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, sometimes cross-corrugate adaxially, summits usually U-shaped, sometimes prolonged to 3 mm beyond collar;

distal ligules 0.3–2 mm;

blades 3–4(–5) per fertile culm, 3–16 cm × 1.5–4 mm.

very condensed, ovoid or shortly cylindric, with 5–10 indistinguishable branches, to 2.5 × 1.5 cm;

proximal internode not visible, not more than 3 mm;

proximal bract scalelike, inconspicuous.

dense, dark brown, green and brown, or gold, 1.1–2.1 cm × 13–18 mm;

proximal internode 1–2.5(–3.4) mm; 2d internode 0.5–2 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike, shorter than inflorescences.

5–7(–9), aggregated, individually indistinct broadly ovoid, 6.5–10 × 4.5–8 mm, base and apex usually rounded.

pale brown, 9–11-veined abaxially, 5–7-veined adaxially, to 3.5 × 1.5 mm, base distended only slightly proximally, cordate;

stipe to 0.2 mm;

beak to 2 mm, margins serrulate, apex bidentate, teeth to 0.1 mm.

ascending to ascending-spreading, light brown to coppery or dark brown, conspicuously 0–3(–8)-veined adaxially, lance-ovate to broadly ovate, flat except over achene, 4–6.5 × 1.5–2.6 mm, 0.3–0.5 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.3–0.6(–0.8) mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least on distal body;

beak dark brown to black, white-hyaline at tip, cylindric, unwinged, at least 1 mm, ± entire for 0.3–0.6 mm, abaxial suture inconspicuous or with conspicuous white margin, distance from beak tip to achene (2.3–)2.6–3.8 mm.

obovate, to 1.5 × 1 mm;

stalk to 0.2 mm;

persistent style base cylindric.

elliptic or ovate, (1.2–)1.4–1.8 × 0.8–1.1(–1.3) mm, 0.3–0.45 mm thick.

hyaline, brown, distinctly shorter than perigynia.

scales reddish or coppery to dark brown, sometimes with whitish or pale gold midstripe, narrowly ovate to ovate, 3–4.8 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, apex acute to obtuse.

= 82.