Flora of North America species comparison

5–60 cm.

20–100 cm;

vegetative culms with few leaves clustered at apex.

basal and cauline;

proximal leaves reduced to sheaths;

distal leaves with blades 3–6 mm wide.

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.

spikes separate, elongate, 6–20 × 5–8 mm;

lateral spikes 1–3, pendent, long-pedunculate.

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.

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

brown or purple-brown, veinless, ovate, 3–3.5 × 1.75–2 mm, papillose;

beak 0.3–0.4 mm, shallowly bidentate or truncate, sparsely papillose or smooth.

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.

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

scales dark brown or black, margins occasionally narrowly hyaline, midvein seldom prominent, same color as the body, inconspicuous, broadly lanceolate, shorter than or equaling and as wide as perigynia, apex acute.

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