Tufted, 2-4 dm, the fertile stems lateral, roughened on the angles; basal sheaths white or light brown; lvs smooth, somewhat glaucous, those of the sterile shoots 10-25 mm wide, of the fertile shoots 2-6 mm wide; terminal spike staminate, 0.6-1.5 cm, on a peduncle 1-8 mm; pistillate spikes 2-4, 0.6-1.5 cm, scattered, the lowest one basal; pistillate scales apiculate or with an awn to 2 mm; perigynia 2-9, overlapping, 3-4.5 mm, finely many-nerved as well as 2-ribbed, sharply trigonous, elliptic in outline, rather abruptly contracted to the short, erect or outcurved beak with entire orifice; achene sharply trigonous; 2n=68, 70. Woods; Me. and s. Que. to Va. and in the mts. to N.C., w. to Wis. and Mo.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.