Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Perennials without conspicuous rhizomes.

Stems: culms tufted, 20–70 cm tall, 0.5–0.8 mm wide, 1–2–nodose below inflorescence.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Leaves few, basal, 1–2 cauline. Blades linear, 8–30 cm long, 0.8–2.5 mm wide. Margins entire. Veins parallel. Sheaths up to 4 cm long, green, the basal ones pale brown. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences of 2–5 small, anthelate partial panicles widely spaced on the upper ⅔ of the culm, the partial panicles solitary at a node, open, corymbiform, with 3–5 filiform branches and clusters of 2–6 subsessile spikelets, 0.8–3 cm long, bracts linear to setaceous, the lower 1–2 longer than the inflorescence, sheathing at base; spikelets brown to reddish brown, ovoid–ellipsoid, subterete, 4–5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide; glumes 6–8, the middle 3–4 flower–bearing, 2–3 of them perfect, membranous, ovate, apex acute, the slender midnerve prolonged into a short recurved awn, the flower–bearing glumes 3–3.5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide. hypogynous bristles that are shorter than ( subsp. rugosa outside hawaii) or surpass the style base. Flowers all bisexual (perfect) or sometimes distalmost staminate. Perianth bristles 6, 2.5–2.7 mm long, longer than the achene (incl. the style base), antrorsely spinulose. Corolla (petals) absent. Ovary superior; styles base deltoid, 0.5–0.6 mm long, ca. 0.5 mm wide at base, gradually narrowed upward to a filiform style.

Fruit: Achenes reddish brown; obovate to obovate–elliptic; ca. 1.5 mm long; 1–1.1 mm wide; faintly transversely rugulose or rugose. Seeds 1; seed coat thin; free from pericarp; embryo basal; endosperm abundant.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring in wet forest and bogs; occasionally in mesic forest.

Elevation Range: 280–1,620 m.