Rhizomes thickened. Culms cespitose, 9--35 cm. Leaves: basal leaves 6--11.5 cm x 1.5--4 mm, apex not callous, sparingly ciliate. Inflorescences umbellate-paniculate; glomerules 4--30 (each with 9--24 flowers), central glomerules sessile or nearly sessile, cylindric, 6--10 x 4 mm; branches straight, erect, to 3 cm; proximal inflorescence bract conspicuous, leaflike, equal to much longer than inflorescence; bracts clear, sometimes variegated with purple; bracteole margins dentate to lacerate. Flowers: tepals clear to straw-colored throughout or centers brown with clear margins and apex, 1.5--2.6 mm; outer whorl exceeding inner whorl, (outer whorl apex awned); anthers equaling to 1.5 times filament length. Capsules light or dark reddish, shining, spheric, usually equaling inner tepal whorl. Seeds translucent brown, ellipsoid, 0.7--1 mm; caruncle 0.2--0.3 mm. 2n = 12.
Flowering and fruiting early--late summer. Moist to wet woods, grassy places, and clearings on rocky places and barrens; 0--1000 m; introduced; N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), Que.; N.Y., Vt.; Eurasia.
Basal leaves of Luzula pallidula are sparingly ciliate.
For discussion of the change of the widely known name for this species, see J. Kirschner (1990).
Herbage pale; branches of the infl densely papillose; tep notably pale, 1.5-2.5 mm, the inner shorter than the outer; anthers 0.5-0.6 mm, ca equaling the filament; seed- body under 1 mm; 2n=12; otherwise much like no. 5 [Luzula multiflora (Retz.) Lej.]. Native of Eurasia, intr. in our range from N.S. and N.B. to n. N.Y. (L. pallescens and L. campestris var. pallescens, misapplied)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
