Flora of North America species comparison

to 2 times wider than thick, 35–60(–70) cm × 0.5–1.3 mm, hard, usually with to 10 blunt ribs, at 20X often finely ridged and minutely granular.

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.

distal leaf sheaths brown to reddish.

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

3–12 × 3–4 mm;

proximal scale amplexicaulous, 3.5–4 mm, midrib region very broad and fleshy, apex entire;

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales 30–40, 8–10 per mm of rachilla, orange-brown to stramineous, midrib region stramineous, broadly ovate, papery or sometimes membranous, 3–4 × 2 mm, apex entire, rounded.

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, sometimes rudimentary, brown, length variable, obscurely retrorsely spinulose;

anthers brown, 1.7–2.2 mm.

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.

subdeltoid in outline, sometimes broadly obpyriform, equilaterally trigonous, angles prominent, 0.9–1.2 × 0.7–1.1 mm, apex truncate.

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.

sessile, depressed-pyramidal, often apiculate, as wide as achene, 0.3–0.5 × 0.7–1.1 mm.

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