Plants densely cespitose; rhizome internodes 1.2–2 mm thick. Culms dark purple-red to 4–35(–39) cm high at base, 15–90 cm. Leaves: sheaths glabrous; blades green, widest blades 3.3–5.3(–8) mm wide, smooth abaxially. Inflorescences 0.33–0.90 of culm height; peduncles of lateral spikes smooth or barely scaberulous; peduncles of terminal spikes 1.6–17(–56) mm, usually barely exceeding lateral spikes; proximal bract sheath loose, abaxially glabrous, sheath front slightly concave to slightly convex, elongated 0.2–3.0 mm beyond apex; ligules 1.4–5.4(–7.3) mm; distal bract much exceeding terminal spike. Spikes (3–)4–5, distal 2–4 overlapping; lateral spikes pistillate, with 3–27 perigynia, 5–30 × 4.6–9.6 mm, ratio of spike length (in mm) to flower number = 1.3–2; terminal spikes 7–35 × 1.3–3 mm. Pistillate scales 2.7–6.6 × 1.2—2.4 mm, margins whitish, usually with red-brown speckles, entire, apex with awn 0.3–2.6 mm. Staminate scales 3.1–4.8 × 0.9–1.7 mm. Anthers 1.8–2.8 mm. Perigynia spirally imbricate, 52–64-veined, wrinkled to unwrinkled, narrowly ellipsoid to obovoid, obtusely triangular in cross section, (3.6–)3.9–4.5(–4.7) × (1.7–)1.8–2.3(–2.4) mm, 1.8–2.3(–2.5) times as long as wide, lustrous, base gradually tapered, apex gradually tapered; beak absent or straight 0–0.2 mm. Achenes broadly obdeltoid-obovoid, widest at (0.6–)0.65–0.8 of body length, (2.4–)2.8–3.1(–3.3) × (1.6–)1.7–1.9(–2) mm, loosely enveloped by perigynia; stipe straight, (0.3–)0.4–0.5(–0.6) mm; beak straight, 0.3–0.6 mm.
Home