Flora of North America species comparison

10–30(–40) cm, bases hard, swollen.

at most to 7 cm.

¼–1/2 length of scapes;

sheaths brown to stramineous, abaxially glabrous or hirtellous;

blades spreading to erect, filiform, wiry, less than 1 mm wide, involute, margins and adaxial surface glabrous to hispidulous or scabrid.

overtopping scapes;

sheaths pale, shorter than blade;

blades spreading or curving outward, filiform, 0.5 mm wide, flat to slightly involute, margins thickened, scabrid.

terminal, mostly in compound, compact or diffuse, involucrate anthelae;

scapes ascending to erect, wiry, 1 mm thick, coarsely ribbed, ribs glabrous or hispidulous to scabrid;

proximal bladed involucral bract exceeding or exceeded by inflorescence.

spikelets solitary, either atop short, stiff glabrous scapes or very short-scaped to subsessile and clustered at plant base, pale with greenish scale midribs, ovoid, 5 mm;

involucral bracts 2, the proximal strongly bladed, much exceeding spikelet.

red-brown to chestnut-brown, lanceoloid to cylindric, 4–6 mm, mostly longer than broad;

fertile scales ovate, curvate-keeled, 2–2.5 mm, apex acute, glabrous or papillose-puberulent, midrib excurrent as mucro or mucronula.

fertile scales lanceolate, keeled, 3.5 mm, keel excurrent as mucro or cusp.

stamens 3;

anthers linear, 1–2 mm.

stamens 3;

anthers narrowly oblong, 0.5 mm.

gray to yellow-brown or dark brown, trigonous-obovoid, 1–1.2(–1.5) mm, faces rugulose, papillate;

tubercle a globose button.

yellowish or pale gray, ribs prominent, trigonousobovoid, 1 mm, faces evenly, finely transversely rugose.

= 60.