Rhizomatous; culms 6-12 dm, rather stout, smooth or nearly so; sheaths smooth to scaberulous; main blades 5-10 mm wide; infl erect, dense, 1-2 dm נ2-5 cm, with scabrous branches; glumes lance-acuminate, usually outcurved, the first 4.5-8 mm, the second usually slightly shorter; lemma scabrous, acuminate, 3.7-6 mm; callus-hairs half as long as the lemma, mostly in 2 tufts, one on each side; awn straight, inserted well above the middle of the lemma and barely surpassing it; rachilla prolonged 1 mm, glabrous except for the terminal tuft of hairs that extend almost to the lemma-tip. Open swamps and wet woods; N.S.; coastal states from Me. to Ga., less often inland to W.Va., O., Ky., and Tenn.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.