Flora of North America species comparison

terete, 45–100 cm × (3.2–)5–9.4 mm, soft to firm, sometimes septate-nodulose proximally, not distally, internally hollow with complete transverse septa, closer together near the spikelet, evident externally;

plants never forming filiform, flaccid culms.

terete, often with to 12 blunt ridges when dry, 30–75 cm × 0.5–1.5 mm, firm, internally spongy.

distal leaf sheaths persistent, membranous to thinly papery, apex acute to acuminate.

distal leaf sheaths persistent, not splitting, proximally dark red, distally stramineous or green, papery to membranous, apex dark redbrown, obtuse, not callose, tooth rarely present on some culms, 0.2 mm.

not proliferous, (20–)40–62 × 4–7 mm;

rachilla joints bearing prominent wing-like remnants of floral scales;

proximal scale empty, amplexicaulous, (3–)3.5–5 mm;

floral scales 115–220, 1–3 per mm of rachilla, stramineous to pale brown, usually with pale to dark brown submarginal band, midrib region sometimes greenish, obovate to broadly oblong, (4–)4.5–5 × 2.8–4 mm, cartilaginous, often membranous toward margins, margins broadly translucent, membranous, apex rounded to subacute.

ovoid or subspheric, 5–12 × 2–3(–4) mm, apex acute to obtuse;

proximal scale amplexicaulous, entire;

subproximal scale with flower;

floral scales deciduous, often spreading in fruit, 10–35, 3 per mm of rachilla, red-brown to blackish brown, midrib regions sometimes green, ovate, 2.5–3 × 1.7 mm, apex entire, obtuse to acute, often carinate in distal part of spikelet.

perianth bristles 6–8, stramineous, stout, flattened, subequal, exceeding achene, to 2.9 mm, coarsely spinulose;

anthers stramineous to reddish, 2.5–5 mm;

styles 2-fid or 3-fid.

perianth bristles 1–5, brown, stout, very unequal, rudimentary to equaling achene;

stamens unknown [absent from specimens];

styles 3-fid or some 2-fid.

stramineous to golden-yellow or reddish brown or gray, obovoid to obpyriform, biconvex or nearly plano-convex, often with abaxial longitudinal ridge, 1.4–1.8(–2) × 1.1–1.4 mm, markedly sculptured at 10–15X, each face with 23–37 rows of transversely elongated cells, the longitudinal walls separating the cells often prominent, apex with short neck 0.7–0.8 mm wide.

not persistent, dark yellow or medium brown, obovoid to obpyriform, compressed trigonous, or some thickly biconvex, angles evident, 1.1–1.5 × 0.95–1.25 mm, apex rounded, neck very short (to absent), finely rugulose at 10–20X, 20 or more horizontal ridges in vertical series, finely cancellate at 20–30X.

dark brown, lamelliform, slightly higher than wide, 0.7–1.1 × 0.5–0.7 mm.

whitish to brown, pyramidal, not depressed, as high as wide, 0.3–0.5 × 0.4–0.6 mm.

= 42.