Flora of North America species comparison

acutely angled, 50–150 cm, scabrous.

to 90 cm.

basal sheaths red-brown;

sheaths of proximal leaves bladeless, scabrous, fronts with red-brown spots, prominently ladder-fibrillose, apex red-brown, U-shaped, occasionally thickened;

blades 4–6 mm wide.

proximal bract shorter than or subequal to inflorescence, 3–4.5 mm wide.

with 3–7 spikes;

peduncles of proximal spikes exserted (0.5–)1 cm;

proximal bracts with blades 12–80 mm, sheaths cylindric, 12–58 mm, mouth not purple-banded, 0.6–2 mm wide.

erect; staminate 2(–3); pistillate 3–4;

proximal pistillate spike 1.6–10.8 cm × 3–5 mm, base cuneate or attenuate.

ascending, pale brown, occasionally with red-brown spots on apical 1/2, 0–5-veined on each face, somewhat flattened, loosely enclosing achenes, ovoid, 1.7–3.4 × 0.8–1.8 mm, dull, apex acute or obtuse, papillose;

beak thickened, 0.1–0.2 mm.

ascending to spreading, green to purple, indistinctly or distinctly 9-20-veined, (3–)3.5–5.5 × 0.9–1.6(–1.8) mm, usually without flat margins around achene, usually glabrous, margins often ciliate-setose distally;

beak 0.5–1.5 mm, tip dark purple, often ciliate-setose, distance from perigynium beak tip to achene apex less than 2.5 mm.

not constricted, dull.

± obovoid, 1.3–2 × 0.7–1.1 mm.

scales red-brown, shorter than perigynia, apex acute, awnless.

scales red-brown to dark purple with paler midvein, ovate to obovate, 1.9–3.5 × 1–1.7 mm, apex acute or obtuse.

spikes pistillate or androgynous, erect to pendent, purple or purple and brown, 12–32 × 5–10 mm;.

spike staminate, ± erect, 11–66 × 3–8 mm.

scales gold to purple brown with pale, 2.9–4.5 × 0.7–1.6 mm, midvein ciliate, margins scarious, apex obtuse.

(1.9–)2–3 mm.

= 66, 68.