Flora of North America species comparison

21–47 cm, smooth to weakly scabrous distally;

bases not fibrous.

20–100 cm;

vegetative culms with few leaves clustered at apex.

blades pale green, shorter than culms, 1–3.3 mm wide, herbaceous, papillose abaxially, scabrous adaxially.

sheath summits U-shaped;

distal ligules 2.3–4.8 mm;

blades 3–5 per fertile culm, 10–32 cm × 1.4–3(–3.5) mm.

with both staminate and pistillate spikes;

peduncles of staminate spikes 0.4–2.2 mm;

proximal cauline bracts leaflike usually shorter than inflorescences.

arching or nodding, dense or open, green, yellow, or brown at maturity, 1.5–6 cm × 5–20 mm;

proximal internode 2–12 mm; 2d internode 2–13 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike, with bristle tip.

proximal pistillate spikes 2–3 (basal spikes 0);

cauline spikes with proximal 2 spikes overlapping, se!parated by less than 7 mm, with 3–10 perigynia; staminate spikes 5.3–8.6 × 0.8–1.7 mm.

3–10, distinct, ellipsoid, 7–16 × 3–9(–13) mm, base acute to short-attenuate, apex acute to rounded.

light green, veinless, ellipsoid, 3.2–4.2 × 1.1–1.3 mm, longer than wide;

beak straight, pale green, 0.7–1 mm, ciliate-serrulate, apical teeth 0.2–0.4 mm.

ascending or rarely widely spreading, golden brown, conspicuously 5-veined on each face or fewer adaxially, winged to base, lanceolate, flat except over achene, 4.2–6.8 × 1.2–2 mm, length at least 3 times width, 0.35–0.55 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.2–0.6 mm wide;

beak pale to golden-brown at tip, flattish, ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with white or golden brown hyaline margin, distance from beak tip to achene 2.2–4.8 mm.

brown, obovoid to ellipsoid, obtusely trigonous in cross section, 1.9–2.4 × 1–1.3 mm.

ovate or elliptic, 1.3–1.7 × 0.7–0.9 mm, 0.3–0.4 mm thick.

pistillate scales reddish brown to pale brown, with broad white margins, ovate, 2.2–3.2 × 1.2–1.8 mm, 1/2 to 2/3 length of perigynia, apex acute to acuminate,; staminate scales elliptic, 2.4–3.2 × 0.9–1.8 mm, apex acute.

1.4–1.5 mm.

3.

scales hyaline brown, occasionally with green or gold midstripe, lanceolate, 3.4–4 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, apex acuminate.

= 36.