Flora of North America species comparison

20–50 cm.

25–60(–85) cm;

vegetative culms with few leaves clustered at apex.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, often cross-corrugated, summits U-shaped or rounded, sometimes prolonged to 2.5 mm beyond collar;

distal ligules 1–2.5(–3.5) mm;

blades 2–4(–7) per fertile culm, 8–25 cm × (2.5–)3–4 mm.

sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, summits U-shaped;

distal ligules 1.5–6 mm;

blades (2–)3–4(–5) per fertile culm, 7–22 cm × 2–4 mm.

dense, gold or brown, 1.3–3 cm × 12–20 mm;

proximal internode 0.5–3.9(–5) mm; 2d internode 1–3(–4) mm;

proximal bracts scalelike or bristlelike, shorter than inflorescences.

erect, usually dense, green, gold, or dark brown, 1.8–3 cm8–14 mm;

proximal internode 2–3(–5) mm; 2d internode 1–3 mm;

proximal bracts bristlelike, shorter than or equaling inflorescences.

3–8, usually distinct, broadly ovoid, 9–12 × 6–9 mm, base rounded to attenuate, apex rounded.

6–14, distant, distinct, ovoid to broadly ovoid, 8–10 × 4.5–6.5 mm, base and apex acute to truncate.

ascending to spreading, green, straw colored, or occasionally white, 10–20-veined abaxially, conspicuously 0–12-veined adaxially, thin, broadly ovate, flat except over achene, 4–5.8 × 1.8–3.4 mm, 0.3–0.5(–0.6) mm thick, 1.7–2.3 times as long as wide, margin flat, including wing 0.4–1 mm wide, edge minutely crinkled and ciliate-serrulate at least distally;

beak spreading, gold, red-brown to dark brown, sometimes white-hyaline at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, sometimes cylindric, unwinged, ± entire for 0.5–0.7 mm, abaxial suture usually inconspicuous, distance from beak tip to achene 2.2–3 mm.

ascending, white to gold or light brown, 0–5-veined abaxially, 0–4-veined adaxially, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, flat except over achene or, occasionally, plano-convex, 3.4–4.1(–4.7) × 0.9–1.3 mm, 0.15–0.35 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.1–0.2 mm wide, usually crinkled distally;

beak brown or red-brown at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture inconspicuous, distance from beak tip to achene (1.8–)2.1–3 mm.

elliptic to broadly obovate, (1.4–)1.7–2.4 × 1–1.6 mm, 0.3–0.5 mm thick.

± elliptic, 1.1–1.5 × 0.6–0.8 mm, 0.15–0.35 mm thick;

style usually persistent, sinuate.

scales white, gold, red-brown, or coppery, with pale to green midstripe, lanceolate to ovate, 3.2–4.8 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, margin white, 0–0.15(–0.3) mm wide, apex acute to acuminate.

scales gold to dark brown, with whitish, green, or brown midstripe, lanceolate, 3–3.8 mm, shorter and narrower than perigynia, apex acuminate to short-awned.

= 52, ca. 66, 70.