Flora of North America species comparison

(24–)35–85 cm.

densely tufted, ascending, lax or, occasionally, decumbent, 13–78 cm × 0.8–1 mm.

sheath adaxially white-hyaline, summits U-shaped to rounded;

distal ligules 2–3 mm;

blades (1–)2–4(–5) per fertile culm, flat ± to tip, 7–22 cm × (1.5–)2–3.5(–4) mm.

basal sheaths purple or purple tinged;

sheaths 2–42 mm;

blades ascending or lax, erect, green or yellow-green, midrib developed adaxially, 2 lateral veins abaxially, 19–38 cm × 1–5 mm, blades of overwintering leaves smooth.

0.5–11.2 cm × 0.5–4 mm, angles of bract sheath denticulate;

bract blade of distal lateral spikes linear, narrower than spikes, not concealing them;

widest bract blade of distalmost lateral spike 0.5–3.4 mm wide.

stiffly erect, usually open, brown, 1.5–4 cm × 10–15 mm;

proximal internode (2.5–)4–10 mm; 2d internode (2.5–)3–6 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike or bristlelike, shorter than inflorescences.

peduncles proximal pistillate spikes to 11 cm, distal spike sessile; staminate spike 0.5–10.6 cm.

5–9, usually loosely aggregated, ovoid to broadly ovoid, 9–14 × 6–8 mm, base attenuate, apex rounded to tapered.

(3–)4(–5) per culm;

lateral spikes 5–27 × 3–4 mm;

internode between proximal scales in proximal spike 1.1–3.2(–4.8) mm;

terminal spike linear, 11–21 × 1–2.2 mm.

ascending to ascending-spreading, gold to light brown, conspicuously 3–9-veined abaxially, conspicuously 2–5-veined adaxially, lanceolate to ovate, usually flat except over achene, 3.4–4.7(–5.2) × 1.3–2.1 mm, 0.4–0.5 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.2–0.6 mm wide;

beak red-brown or gold at tip, usually cylindric, unwinged, ± entire for 0.3–0.5 mm, sometimes flat, ciliate-serrulate to tip, abaxial suture often with conspicuous white margin, distance from beak tip to achene (1.2–)1.5–2 mm.

4–12 per spike, closely overlapping, aggregated, ascending, conspicuously (22–)25–32-veined, elliptic-obovate, 2.8–3 × 1.5–1.8 mm, 1.8–2.7 times long as wide;

beak abruptly bent, 0.2–0.8 mm.

elliptic to broadly ovate, 1.1–1.8 × 0.9–1.2 mm, 0.4–0.5 mm thick.

obovoid, 2.6–2.8 × 1.3–1.6 mm.

scales reddish gold to brown or greenish, often white-hyaline at tip or base, with pale or green midstripe, narrowly to broadly ovate, 3.4–5 mm, length and width less or greater than perigynia, margin not white-hyaline, apex acute to acuminate.

scales 2.8–3 × 1–1.2 mm, apex acute to aristate, awn to 1 mm.

scales 3.5–4 × 1.2–1.5 mm, margins hyaline, purple-brown or brownish purple tinged, apex acute.

2.6–3 mm.

= 62, 64, 66, 68.

= 33, 38, 40.