Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Perennials, occasionally with rhizomes.

Stems: Culms (stems) laxly to densely tufted, slender, not nodose.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. 3-ranked, basal and cauline, or sometimes only basal. Blades linear or rarely lanceolate, usually shallowly channeled, nearly flat toward the base; some blades reduced. Margins ± scabrous or entire, occasionally involute. Veins parallel. Sheathing; sheath closed, the sheaths of basal leaves often brown, reddish brown, purplish brown, or dusky brown, often disintegrated into fibers and covering neck of rhizome. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences of a terminal simple spike, flowers unisexual, the spikes androgynous; staminate spikelets with 1 glume and 1 flower consisting of 3 naked stamens; pistillate spikelets consisting gf a single naked pistil contained within a plano-convex to trigonous' glabrous or sometimes hispid perigynium, the perigynium falling with the mature achene and rachilla as a unit; style branches 3, protruding from the perigynium orifice; stigmas 3; rachilla vestigial, the upper part exserted beyond the perigynium–orifice, and a hook formed at the rachilla apex by a bract bending over the tip. Flowers unisexual. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 1–3. Ovary superior.

Fruit: Achenes lenticular or trigonous. Seeds 1; seed coat thin; free from pericarp; embryo basal; endosperm abundant.

Ploidy:

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