Flora of North America species comparison

15–60 cm, proximally scabrous.

to 80 cm × 4 mm, scabrous.

2.5–4 mm wide.

sheaths all with blades, fronts smooth, red spotted, indistinctly linearly veined, apex hyaline, colorless, fragile, convex, entire;

ligules rounded, 5 mm, free limb to 0.5 mm;

blades dark green, not epistomic, to 60 cm × 7 mm.

proximal bracts usually shorter than, sometimes equaling, occasionally exceeding, inflorescences;

spikes spreading or erect, overlapping, contiguous, forming dense terminal cluster or, sometimes, proximal spikes separate, sessile, short-oblong, 7–12 × 6–10 mm;

lateral 2–3 spikes pistillate;

terminal spike gynecandrous.

densely spicate, elongated, cylindric, with 8–12 branches, 2–4 × 1.5 cm;

proximal internode to 0.5 mm;

proximal bracts setaceous, apparent.

ascending or spreading, pale yellow, dark brown or blackish with green or yellow-brown margins, veinless, ovate or, rarely, circular, 3–4 × 2–3 mm, apex abruptly beaked, papillose on distal margins and serrulate;

beak 0.4–0.5 mm, shallowly or deeply bidentate, often serrulate.

pale brown, coppery distally, faintly 3–5-veined or veinless abaxially, veinless adaxially, to 4 × 1.7 mm, base not distended proximally, rounded;

stipe to 0.2 mm;

beak to 2 mm, serrulate.

filling proximal 1/2 or less of perigynia.

circular, 1.5 × 1.3 mm;

stalk to 0.15 mm;

persistent style base cylindric.

scales dark brown or black, distal margins often hyaline, ovate or lanceolate, shorter than or as long and broad as pergynia, midvein same color as body, inconspicuous, apex acute.

coppery with hyaline margins.

= 68.