Flora of North America species comparison

2–40 cm × 0.5–1.5(–2) mm.

terete, often with to 16 blunt ridges when dry, 25–80 cm × 0.5–1.5 mm, firm, internally spongy.

apex of distal leaf sheath obtuse to acute, tooth to 0.3 mm.

distal leaf sheaths persistent, not splitting, proximally dark red, distally red to stramineous or green, often callose, thinly papery (to membranous), apex dark red-brown, obtuse to subtruncate, tooth sometimes present on some culms, to 0.3 mm.

lanceoloid to subcylindric or ovoid, 5–10(–20) × 2–3(–4) mm, apex acute (to rounded);

proximal scale empty, encircling ca. 2/3 of culm;

floral scales 25–100(–200), 8–12 per mm of rachilla, orangebrown to stramineous, 2(–2.5) × 1–1.3 mm, midribs mostly keeled, ovate, apex narrowly rounded to subacute.

ovoid to lanceoloid, 5–23 × 2–3(–4) mm, apex acute (to obtuse);

proximal scale amplexicaulous, entire;

subproximal scale with flower;

floral scales often spreading in fruit, 10–60, 3–4 per mm of rachilla, medium brown, rarely red-brown, midrib regions mostly stramineous to green, in proximal part of spikelet ovate, in distal part lanceolate, 2.5–3.5 × 1.7 mm, entire, apex acute to rarely obtuse, often carinate in distal part of spikelet.

perianth bristles present or often absent, 5–8, brown, stout, rudimentary to slightly exceeding tubercle;

stamens (2–)3;

anthers brown to yellow, 0.3–0.7(–1) mm;

styles 2–3-fid.

perianth bristles 2–4(–5), brown, slender to stout, usually very unequal, rudimentary to equaling achene;

stamens 3;

anthers brown, 1.5–2 mm;

styles 2-fid, sometimes some 3-fid.

0.9–1.1(–1.5) × 0.7–1.1 mm.

not persistent, dark yellow or stramineous, obovoid to obpyriform, all biconvex or some (very rarely all) compressedtrigonous, angles obscure, 1–1.5 × 0.9–1.25 mm, apex rounded, neck absent (to very short), finely rugulose at 10–20X, with 20 or more horizontal ridges in vertical series and/or finely cancellate at 10–30X.

depressed, subdeltoid, 0.1–0.3(–0.4) × 0.6–0.9(–1) mm, 1/10–2/5 as high as wide, 1/4 or less as high as achene, 9/10 as wide as achene, very rarely 2/5 as high as achene (in E. engelmannii var. robusta).

brown or proximally whitish, pyramidal, depressed, rarely some as high as wide, 0.15–0.3(–0.5) × (0.3–)0.4–0.6 mm.

= 10.

= 44, 45, 46.