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.

sometimes curved, slender, 10–40 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 gray-brown to pale brown abaxially, inner band thin, hyaline, often red tinged, summit prolonged, concave;

ligules as long as wide;

blades yellowish green to pale gray-green, flat, 5–20 cm × 1–3 mm, subequal or shorter than culms, soft.

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.

1.5–5 cm × 7–12 mm;

proximal bracts scalelike, sometimes bristlelike, shorter than spikes.

3–6, gynecandrous, proximal spikes separate, usually 1–1.5 cm apart, distal approximate, individually distinct, containing 5–15(–20) perigynia, oblong, 5–15 × 4–6 mm;

terminal spike conspicuously staminate at base, long-clavate, 10–20 mm.

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-ascending, gray-green, often reddish dotted, often pale brown in age, finely several-veined, oblong-elliptic, 2.5–3.3 × 1.5–2 mm, widest near middle, coriaceous;

beak entire or with few marginal teeth.

substipitate, 2–2.5 × 1.7–1.8 mm.

pale brown to gray-brown, oblong, 1.75–2 × 1.25–1.5 mm, dull.

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 pale red-brown with lighter center and narrow hyaline margins, ovate, ± equaling, concealing perigynia, apex obtuse.

= 42.

= 64.