Tufted, 2-6 dm; basal sheaths brown; largest lvs to 10 mm wide; upper bract-sheaths minutely serrulate on the angles; terminal spike staminate, 0.7-1.6 cm, sessile or on a short peduncle to 2 mm, surpassed by or only slightly surpassing the uppermost pistillate spike; pistillate spikes 2-4(5), 1-2 cm, the upper 1 or 2 approximate to the staminate one, sessile or short-peduncled, the others more remote, evidently pedunculate, none basal; second pistillate bract often overtopping all the spikes; pistillate scales usually short-awned or apiculate; perigynia 5-14, 2.2-4.1 mm, 2-ribbed, otherwise nerveless or only obscurely few-nerved, obovoid and obscurely trigonous, abruptly contracted to the short, entire beak; achene trigonous; 2n=36. Moist woods; Nf. to ne. Minn., s. to N.J., Pa., Ind., and Wis., and in the mts. to N.C. and Tenn.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.