Culms 1-7 dm; lvs 3-8(-10) mm wide; infl 8-15 cm, the finely hairy branches divergent, in fascicles of ca 5; first glume ovate, 1-1.7 mm; second glume oblong, truncate and usually erose, 1.6-2 mm; lemmas broadly oblong, 2.2-3 mm, glabrous; anthers 1-1.3 mm; 2n=20. Shallow water or wet soil; circumboreal, s. to N.B., Wis., Nebr., and Ariz.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.