Culms coarse and hard, 1–3 m, rhizomes stout, firm, elongate; main lvs 8–20 mm wide, cuttingly scabrous on the margins; panicle dense, 1–3 dm; spikes numerous, crowded, ascending, usually 3–7 cm, the projecting rachis not surpassing the uppermost spikelet; spikelets firm and harsh, closely imbricate, those on one side of the spike rarely over 3 mm apart; first glume linear, two-fifths to two-thirds as long as the lemma; second glume 10–15 mm, sharply acute to acuminate but not awned, scabrous on the keel, exceeding the obtuse lemma; 2n=28, 42, ca 80. Salt or brackish marshes along the coast; Mass. to Fla. and Tex.
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