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1 Terminal spike staminate; lateral spikes staminate, androgynous, or pistillate; base of culms tan, brown, or ivory. | |
2 Plants without rhizomes or with very short ones, densely cespitose | |
1 Terminal spike staminate or gynecandrous; lateral spikes pistillate, gynecandrous or rarely distal spike staminate; base of culms usually covered with dark maroon bladeless sheaths (often missing or very short in C. prasina). | |
4 Perigynia fusiform to narrowly lance-ovoid, > 5 mm long, including the elongate beak; leaves generally < 5 mm wide; leaf sheaths usually glabrous, at least on back | |
6 Lateral pistillate spikes erect at maturity, narrowly oblong to cylindric, to 25 × 2.5-9 mm, on stiff peduncles | |
6 Lateral pistillate spikes drooping at maturity, short cylindric to linear, 8-80 × 3-5 mm, on slender arching peduncles |
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3 Perigynia with serrulate wing on margins; spikes usually 20+, sessile, pistillate or androgynous and similar in appearance, forming a dense, ovoid or oblong head, rarely with proximal spike separated | |
6 Perigynia 14-25-veined | |
8 Perigynia (9-) 10+ mm long. | |
8 Perigynia < 9 mm long. | |
16 Perigynia 14-25-veined. | |
20 Leaf blades and sheaths glabrous. | |
25 Larger spikes usually with > 50 perigynia; achenes 2-3 mm long | |
25 Larger spikes with < 40 perigynia; achenes 1-2 mm long | |
28 Leaf blades and sheaths glabrous. | |
31 Larger leaves 8-23 mm wide, only the sheaths pubescent | |
31 Leaves < 8 mm wide, blades and usually also the sheaths pubescent. | |
32 Perigynium beak 0.5-3 mm long, often > 1 mm long, about 1/2 the length of the body; proximal pistillate scales awned | |
32 Perigynium beak absent or not more than 0.5 (-0.7) mm long, not > 1/4 the length of the body; proximal pistillate scales acute, acuminate or cuspidate. | |
33 Style persistent on achene in fruit; larger leaves and sheaths usually at least sparsely septate-nodulose, rarely not. | |
42 Plant base brown or blackish, without trace of red or purple | |
42 Plant base red or purple tinged, sometimes only sparsely so. | |