Flora of North America species comparison

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

dark maroon at base; flowering stems 25–100 cm, as long as leaves at maturity or often longer, 0.5–1 mm thick, glabrous but scabrous within inflorescence.

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.

basal sheaths maroon, bladeless, glabrous or rarely minutely pubescent;

others grading from maroon to green on back, pale brown-hyaline or reddish brown on front, often red dotted, sometimes finely pubescent;

blades flat, 2–7 mm wide, glabrous on both surfaces, margins and abaxial midribs often finely scabrous.

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.

peduncles of lateral spikes slender, to 50 mm, usually shorter than spikes or only slightly longer, scabrous; of terminal spike 15–50 mm, finely scabrous;

proximal bracts longer, or more often, shorter than inflorescences;

sheaths 1–7 cm;

blades 1–3.5 mm wide.

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.

green to olive-green, usually red dotted, prominently 2-ribbed, finely 12–20-veined, loosely enveloping achene, fusiform to lance-ovoid, 5–9.5 × 1.1–2.2 mm, membranous, base acute, apex tapering gradually to abruptly contracted beak, glabrous or short-pubescent;

beak bidentate 0.7–2 mm, including teeth to 1 mm.

suborbiculate, 1.7–2.2 × 1.5–1.8 mm.

stipitate, 1.9–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm, stipe 0.5–1.5 mm.

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.

scales white-hyaline, sometimes tinged with pale brown or suffused with chestnut, with broad green midrib, finely red dotted, oblong, 2.8–6 mm, much shorter than mature perigynia, apex obtuse, acute or cuspidate, awn to 0.2 mm, glabrous, distal margin ciliate.

0.7–1.3 mm.

spikes 2–5, 1 per node, well separated, erect at anthesis, soon nodding, pistillate with 10–25 perigynia attached 2–9 mm apart, linear, 25–80 × 2–3 mm.

spike staminate or sometimes gynecandrous with a few pistillate flowers distally; 15–50 × 0.6–1.2 mm.

= 46, 48.