Flora of North America species comparison

reddish purple at base, 90–180 cm.

basal sheaths sometimes fibrous;

sheath fronts reddish or green, veined, herbaceous;

blades flat to M-shaped in cross section when young, adaxial side with 2 lateral veins more prominent than midvein, widest leaves not more than 10 mm wide, glabrous.

racemose, with 5–8 spikes;

proximal bracts leaflike, long-sheathing, sheath 4+ mm, longer than diameter of stem;

lateral spikes pistillate, with at least 100 perigynia in each, (30–)60+ mm or some spikes androgynous, pendent, pedunculate, prophyllate;

terminal spikes usually staminate.

ascending, weakly veined on faces, with 2, strong, marginal veins, sessile, elliptic or ovate, obtusely and asymmetrically trigonous in cross section, base tapering, apex abruptly beaked, glabrous;

beak 0.5 mm or less, erose-ciliate, bidentate, teeth less than 0.1 mm.

trigonous, smaller than bodies of perigynia;

style deciduous.

pistillate scales with apex acute to acuminate or short-awned.

3.