Flora of North America species comparison

brown at base, densely covered with brown fibrillose remains of previous year’s leaves; flowering stems 30–90 cm, longer than leaves at maturity, 0.5–0.7 mm thick, glabrous but finely scabrous within inflorescence.

20–30 cm.

sheaths glabrous, basal ones tinged with brown and all bearing blades, green to hyaline on back, white-hyaline on front;

blades flat, 2.5–4 mm wide, finely scabrous on adaxial surface and margins, glabrous on abaxial surface.

sheaths white-hyaline, summits usually U-shaped;

distal ligules 1–2(–2.5) mm;

blades 3(–5) per fertile culm, 10–40 cm × 2.2–3.2 mm.

peduncles of lateral spikes slender, 20–60 mm, equaling or somewhat longer than spikes, finely scabrous;

peduncle of terminal spike 5–15 mm, scabrous;

proximal bracts equaling inflorescences or more often shorter;

sheaths 3–5 mm or rarely longer;

blades 1–1.5 mm wide.

dense or sometimes open proximally, brown or purplish, 1.2–2(–2.5) cm × (8–)12–18 mm;

proximal internode 1.5–3.5 mm; 2d internode 0.5–2.5 mm;

proximal bracts bristlelike, shorter than inflorescences.

4–5, densely aggregated, usually at least proximal 1 distinct, obovoid, 9–12 × (5.5–)7–9 mm, base rounded or attenuate, apex rounded or acute.

shiny tan to golden green, 2-ribbed, but otherwise veinless, closely enveloping achene at maturity, ovoid-ellipsoid, 4.5–6.5 × 1.5–2 mm, membranous, base acute, apex abruptly contracted to beak, glabrous;

beak bidentate, narrowly tubular, nearly as long as body, finely scabrous on edge, teeth hyaline, 1 mm.

appressed to ascending, usually dark brown, often green or gold distally and at margins, veinless or conspicuously 3–6-veined abaxially, inconspicuously veined adaxially, broadly obovate to broadly ovate, flat except over achene, 4–5.5 × 2–2.7 mm, 0.25–0.4(–0.5) mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.4–0.6 mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least on distal body;

beak purplish or brown to red-brown, white-hyaline at tip, cylindric, unwinged, entire for 0.5–1.3 mm from tip, abaxial suture with conspicuous white margin, distance from beak tip to achene (1.9–)2.2–2.9 mm.

substipitate, 2–2.5 × 1.7–1.8 mm.

obovate or ovate, 1.6–2.1 × 1–1.4 mm, 0.3–0.5 mm thick.

spikes 4–5, 1 per node;

proximal spikes well separated, nodding or drooping at maturity, pistillate with 10–40 perigynia about 1 mm apart, cylindric, 10–35 × 8–10 mm;

distal spikes crowded near apex, sessile or nearly so, staminate or androgynous, linear, less than 20 mm.

spike staminate or rarely with a few perigynia at base, 10–20 × 1.5–2 mm.

scales pale hyaline tinged with chestnut, narrow midrib green, sometimes finely scabrous, ovate-oblong, shorter than mature perigynia, apex long-acuminate, glabrous.

scales red- or purple-brown to dark brown, sometimes gold above the middle, sometimes with paler midstripe, ovate to broadly ovate, 4.3–5.6 mm, shorter than or equaling perigynium beaks, equaling or narrower than perigynia, margin white-hyaline, green, or gold 0.15–0.3 mm wide, apex usually acute.

long-persistent.

= 42.