Flora of North America species comparison

often arching, often sering as stolons, broadly elliptic, (4–)7–38(–45) cm × (0.1–)0.3–0.7 mm, soft to firm.

acutely quadrangular, (30–)45–105 cm × (1–)2–5.4 mm, soft to firm, internally spongy, transverse septa incomplete;

plants never forming filiform, flaccid culms.

distal leaf sheaths persistent or disintegrating, yellowish to pale brown, sometimes mottled or wholly red-brown, membranaous to papery, apex acute to narrowly obtuse.

distal leaf sheaths persistent, membranous, apex narrowly acute to acuminate, sometimes prolonged into a bladelike portion to 8 cm.

basal spikelets absent; usually proliferous, ovoid to ellipsoid to linear or terete, 3.3–9.6 × 1.2–2.3 mm, apex acute;

proximal scale empty, persistent, amplexicaulous, similar to floral scales (usually slightly longer, midrib broadly green);

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales spiraled, 5–25, 4–8 per mm of rachilla, pale brown, usually spotted, streaked or mottled red-brown to purple, midribs green or green and red-brown, elliptic to obovate, 1.8–2.7 × 1–1.5 mm, membranous to chartaceous (papery), midrib evident to prominent, apex rounded to obtuse.

not proliferous, (15–)20–76 × 3–5(–6) mm;

rachilla joints bearing obscure winglike remnants of floral scales;

proximal scale empty, amplexicaulous, (1–)2.2–5.4 mm;

floral scales (28–)45–135, 2–3 per mm of rachilla, stramineous to pale brown, usually with pale to dark brown submarginal band, midrib region sometimes greenish, broadly obovate to ovate, (4–)4.5–6.2 × 2.8–5 mm, subcartilaginous, apex rounded to obtuse.

perianth bristles 5–6, red-brown (proximally often white), shorter than to equaling tubercle, rarely longer, 0.9–1.3(–2) mm;

spinules sparse, retrorse, sharply acute;

stamens 3;

anthers yellow, 0.8–1.8 mm;

styles 3-fid.

perianth bristles 6–7, whitish to brown, slender, often markedly unequal, shorter than achene or some equalling tubercle, sparsely retrorsely spinulose to smooth;

anthers stramineous to red-brown, 2.3–2.9 mm;

styles 3-fid, sometimes 2-fid.

gray or greenish, obovoid or obpyriform, trigonous, angles very prominent, 0.6–0.9 × 0.55–0.8 mm, apex constricted proximal to tubercle, finely honeycomb-reticulate at 10–20X, each face with 20 or more rows of evident enlarged cells.

yellow or pale green to brown or purplish, biconvex, obovoid to obpyriform, 1.8–3 × 1.3–2 mm, almost smooth to markedly sculptured at 10–15X, each face with 19–38 rows of almost linear, transversely elongated cells, which are sometimes isodiametric at achene base, apex often constricted to neck 0.3–0.4 mm wide.

whitish, gray, brown, or greenish black, pyramidal, trigonous, 0.2–0.5 × 0.4–0.5 mm.

dark brown or whitish, deltoid to high-pyramidal or lanceoloid, 0.7–1.5 × 0.4–1 mm, often spongy.