Flora of North America species comparison

2–5 mm diam.

proximally bluntly and distally sharply trigonous, 0.6–2 m × 3–5 mm.

sharply trigonous, sides deeply concave throughout to rarely nearly flat, 0.4–2.5 m × 3–10 mm.

5–20+, nearly equaling culm;

sheath fronts delicately pinnate-fibrillose;

blades 2–6+, smooth;

distal blade longer than sheath, 2–10 mm wide, smooth;

emergent blades stiff, cross section thickly V-shaped to trigonous near ligule, central region acutely trigonous and laterally flattened, distal region laterally flattened, apex often asymmetric; submerged blades often flaccid, ribbonlike.

ca. 3, basal, less than 1/2 culm length;

sheath fronts not pinnate-fibrillose;

blades 1–3, V-shaped near base, otherwise laterally flattened-trigonous in cross section;

distal blade 0.2–1.5 times as long as sheath, 25–200 × 2–8 mm.

2–3 times branched, 2–3 proximal internodes elongated, branches to 16 cm;

proximal bract erect, resembling emergent leaf blade, 7–32 cm.

capitate or very rarely with 1 branch to 5 mm;

proximal bract usually erect, resembling leaf blade, 1–6 cm.

3–20, 10–25 × 5–6 mm;

scales straw-colored to orange-brown or flanks red, central region usually greenish, aging brown, ovate-lanceolate, 5–7 × 3 mm, smooth, margins sometimes ciliolate at 40X, apex acute, entire, mucro to 0.2 mm.

2–20, 5–15 × 3–5 mm;

scales bright orange- to red- or purple-brown to straw-colored, often partly translucent, usually clearly lineolate-spotted, broadly ovate, 2.7–4 × 2–3 mm, smooth or awn sparsely spinulose, margins deciduously ciliolate, flanks of proximal scale often with several ribs, apex rounded to acute, notch 0.1–0.4 mm deep, awn not contorted, 0.2–0.6 mm.

perianth bristles 6, medium brown to reddish, equaling achene, sparsely spinulose;

anthers 3–3.5 mm;

styles 3-fid.

perianth members (2–)5–6(–7), yellow-brown, bristlelike, slender to stout, often unequal to equaling 1/2 achene body, retrorsely spinulose;

anthers 1.5–3 mm;

styles 2-fid or 2-fid and 3-fid.

medium brown, ovoid to obovoid, compressed-trigonous, 3–4.5 × 1.7–2 mm;

beak 0.7–2 mm.

brown when ripe, thickly plano-convex or unequally biconvex or compressed obtusely trigonous, obovoid, 1.8–2.8 × 1.3–2 mm;

beak 0.1–0.3 mm.

= 78.