Flora of North America species comparison

2–40 cm × 0.5–1.5(–2) mm.

often arching, sometimes spotted or streaked red-brown, quadrangular or broadly elliptic, sulcate or not, 0.5–25(–30) cm × 0.1–0.4 mm, soft.

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

distal leaf sheaths persistent or disintegrating, stramineous, green, red-brown, or spotted or streaked red-brown, membranous, translucent, apex obtuse or acute.

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.

basal spikelets usually present, pistillate; often proliferous, ovoid, ellipsoid, or linear, clearly laterally compressed, 2.3–6.9 × 0.5–2 mm, apex acute, proximal scale empty, amplexicaulous, similar to floral scales (midribs sometimes more prominent and sometimes slightly prolonged beyond lamina);

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales clearly distichous, 3–9, 3–4 per mm of rachilla, yellowish, pale brown, or red-brown, spotted, streaked, or mottled red-brown, narrowly ovate to oblong, (1.5–)2–5 × 0.4–0.6(–1.2) mm, membranous, apex rounded, obtuse or rarely acute, midribs keeled.

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 3–7, incurved, colorless, white, or red-brown, shorter than or equaling achene;

spinules sparse, retrorse, sharply acute;

stamens 3;

anthers 1.4–2.2 mm;

styles 3-fid.

0.9–1.1(–1.5) × 0.7–1.1 mm.

whitish or greenish, spotted dark green, obovoid, trigonous, angles prominent, 0.6–0.9 × 0.4–0.6 mm, apex constricted proximal to tubercle, smooth to finely cancellate at 10–20X.

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).

pale to red-brown, pyramidal, trigonous, 0.2–0.3(–0.4) × 0.2–0.5 mm.

= 10.