Tufted annual, 2-10(-20) cm; lvs to 10 cm נ0.5 mm, resembling the stems; spikes mostly 1-3 per stem, ovoid, 2-6 mm; scales numerous, 1-2 mm, firm, obovate, mucronate or (especially the lower) with a short awn-tip; achene 0.5-0.7 mm. Moist sandy soil; trop. Amer., n. to Me., Minn., and Wash. Most of our plants (as well as the tropical ones) belong to the var. micrantha, with the inner scale ±strongly reduced (sometimes bifid) or obsolete. Var. aristulata Coville (H. drummondii), with a relatively well developed inner scale ±equaling the achene, occurs chiefly in w. U.S., extending e. sporadically to Ohio.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.