Flora of North America species comparison

coarse, 1.8–3 mm thick, typically with long, unbranched segments from which shoots arise singly every few nodes.

acutely angled, 10–90 cm, glabrous.

sharply trigonous, (10–)25–80(–100) cm, scabrous-angled distally.

basal sheaths red-brown;

sheath apex U-shaped;

blades hypostomic, glabrous, 3–6 mm wide.

basal sheaths dark brown to nearly black;

sheaths with hyaline inner band, apex not prolonged, glabrous;

ligules 0.6–2.6 mm;

blades 1–3(–3.5) mm wide.

proximal bract shorter than inflorescence, 0.5–3 mm wide.

elongate, 0.9–4 cm;

spikes 5–18(–25), usually unisexual; staminate spikes lanceoloid; pistillate spikes ovoid.

erect;

proximal 2–4 spikes pistillate, 1–2.5 cm × 3–5 mm, base cuneate;

terminal 1–2 spikes staminate.

ascending, pale brown with red-brown spots on apical 1/2, veinless, somewhat flattened, loosely enclosing achenes, ellipsoid or obovoid, 2–4 × 1.2–2.3 mm, dull, apex obtuse or acute, papillose;

beak red-brown, 0.2–0.3 mm.

brown to nearly black at maturity, essentially veinless, usually stipitate, ovate, plano-convex, (2.2–)2.6–3.7 × 1.2–1.9 mm, dull;

beak 0.7–1.2 mm, 1/4–1/2 length of body, apex ± hyaline, obscurely bidentate.

not constricted, dull.

scales purple-brown, equaling perigynia, apex obtuse or acute, awnless.

scales straw colored to pale reddish brown, with hyaline margins, ovate, apex acute to acuminate-awned, dull to ± satiny.

(1.8–)2.2–3.9 mm, apiculus bristly hairy (30X).