Flora of North America species comparison

dark maroon at base; flowering stems 25–80 cm, usually longer than leaves at maturity, 1–2 mm thick, glabous to pubescent.

30–100 cm, 3–6 mm wide basally, 0.7–1.1 mm wide distally.

basal sheaths maroon, bladeless, pubescent, sometimes glabrous, others grading from maroon to green on back, light brown-hyaline on front, dotted or streaked with dark red, pubescent distally;

blades flat, 3–7 mm wide, pilose, especially abaxially, sparsely so distally, margins ciliate.

proximal sheaths loose, longitudinally green-and-white-striped, green-and-white-mottled, with prominent cross veins on backs, fronts hyaline and transversely rugose;

ligules 3–8 mm, as long as wide;

widest leaf blades 5–10 mm wide.

peduncles of lateral spikes slender, 5–20 mm, shorter than spikes, pubescent;

peduncle of terminal spikes 5–40 mm, minutely scabrous;

proximal bracts nearly equaling but usually not exceeding inflorescences;

sheaths 15–25 mm;

blades 1.5–3 mm wide.

with 6–15 spikes, 3–15 cm × 8–12 mm, occasionally compound and then somewhat larger;

proximal internodes usually 20+ mm, more than 2 times as long as proximal spikes;

proximal bracts to 2 cm;

spikes with up to 50 ascending to spreading perigynia.

green to dark olive-green, copiously red dotted, 2-ribbed with 6–10 almost equally prominent veins, loosely enveloping achenes, ellipsoid-ovoid, 3.5–5 × 1.7–2 mm, membranous, base acute or with short stipe, apex gradually tapered to beak, glabrous or less often pubescent;

beak minutely bidentate, 0.4–0.7 mm.

pale green, with wing 0.1–0.2 mm wide distally, veinless or weakly veined abaxially, 3.3–4.3 × 1.5–2.5 mm, margins serrulate distally;

beak 0.8–1.2 mm, apical teeth 0.2–0.4 mm.

distinctly stipitate, 1.7–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm, stipe to 0.7 mm.

suborbiculate, 1.7–2.2 × 1.5–1.8 mm.

spikes 2–4, 1 per node, distal 2 usually overlapping terminal spike, others well separated, nodding or drooping at maturity, pistillate with 20–45 perigynia attached 1.5 mm apart, narrowly cylindric, 15–45 × 3–4.5 mm.

spike gynecandrous, 15–45 × 2–4.5 mm.

scales hyaline with broad green, red dotted midrib, elliptic-ovate, shorter than mature perigynia, apex acute to aristate or awned, awn less than 1 mm, ciliate.

scales hyaline with green midvein, ovate to subcircular, 1.8–2.5 × 1.1–1.8 mm, body 1/2 length of perigynium, apex obtuse to acuminate or short-awned.

0.7–1.3 mm.

= 46, 48.