Flora of North America species comparison

mostly solitary or few together, stout, 60–180 cm, strongly retrorsely scabrous.

in tufts, usually filiform, very slender, 35–80 cm, base 1–2 mm thick, glabrous or nearly so, somewhat scabrous toward apex.

proximal sheaths purplish, winged, strongly ribbed, sparsely pubescent;

contra-ligule triangular;

blades linear, M-shaped in cross section, shorter than culms, 10–25 mm wide, glabrous, retrorsely scabrous on midrib, mid lateral veins, and margins.

sheaths purple tinged, scarcely winged, glabrous or minutely pilose;

contra-ligules ovate, quite short, rigid;

blades attenuate, keeled, shorter than culms, 1–2.5 mm wide, usually glabrous or nearly so.

axillary 2–4, terminal 1, stalked panicles, open paniculate, terminal panicle 7–14 cm with numerous short fascicles 4–8 mm wide, of 2–5 spikelets;

bracts subtending inflorescence leaflike, broadly attenuate, ± equaling inflorescence, antrorsely scabrous.

axillary and terminal, fasciculate;

fascicles (1–)2(–3), 10–18 × 4–8 mm, each with 1–5 spikelets, the lateral on long filiform peduncles;

bracts subtending inflorescence leaflike, lanceolate, 3–9 cm, long acuminate-attenuate, usually glabrous.

bisexual and staminate, few flowered, 3.8–5 mm;

staminate scales narrowly ovate, pistillate scales purple with prominent green keel, broadly ovate, abruptly acuminate.

bisexual and staminate, brown, 3–6 mm;

staminate scales lanceolate-acuminate, pistillate scales ovate, midrib excurrent, awnlike.

greenish to whitish or sometimes mottled gray, shiny, rounded-trigonous to ± circular, ovoid, 3.4–3.8 × 2.3–2.8 mm, smooth, apex rounded;

hypogynium whitish to pale brown, bluntly 3-angled, low.

brownish gray or with dark longitudinal bands, ovoid, 1.5–2 mm, smooth, shining, apex distinctly umbonate;

hypogynium somewhat reduced, obscurely 3-angled, low, covered with whitish siliceous, papillose-spiculose crust.