Flora of North America species comparison

roundly trigonous, basally with dark fibrous remnants of old leaf sheaths, (0.5–)4–30 cm × 0.4 –1.1 mm, glabrous.

not basally cormlike, trigonous, (15–)30–100 cm × 1–3 mm, glabrous.

1–5, flat, involute toward apex, 3–18 cm × 1–2.5(–3) mm.

V-shaped, 10–65 cm × 2–4 mm.

heads hemispheric to spheric, (3–)6–15(–24) mm diam.;

rays absent;

bracts 2–5, horizontal to reflexed, parallel to culm, 1–13 cm × 1–3 mm, margins and keel sparsely minutely scabridulous distally.

spikes densely ovoid to cylindric, 8–17 mm wide;

rays 1–6, 2–10 cm, glabrous;

rachis 4–8 mm;

bracts 3–9, ± horizontal, flat, 4–20 cm × 2–4 mm;

rachilla persistent, wings deciduous, 0.2(–0.3) mm wide.

(5–)20–60(–100), whitish to greenish or brownish, ovoid to oblong-lanceoloid, compressed, 3–7 × 2–4 mm;

floral scales (8–)10–12(–24), laterally milky white (infrequently yellowish, pale greenish, brown, or bronze-white), medially green or white, laterally ribless, medially 3-ribbed, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.6–3(–3.4) × 0.8–1.3 mm, apex mucronate to acuminate.

30–80, oblong-lanceoloid, ± terete-quadrangular, 4–7 × 1.5–2 mm;

distal spikelet spreading or ascending;

floral scales persistent, 4–6, appressed, stramineous, laterally 3-ribbed, oblong-elliptic, 1.9–2.6 × 1.1–1.5 mm.

stamens 3;

anthers linear, (0.4–)0.6–0.8(–1.1) mm, connective not prolonged;

styles 0.8–1.8 mm;

stigmas (0.5–)1–1.5(–2) mm.

anthers 0.3–0.5 mm;

styles 0.5 mm;

stigmas 1–2 mm.

brown to blackish, trigonous, broadly obovoid, 0.5–1 × 0.3–0.75 mm, base slightly stipelike, ± cuneate to rounded, apex apiculate, papillose.

brown, ± stipitate, oblong-fusiform, 1.2–1.5 × 0.4–0.6 mm, apex ± acute, surfaces puncticulate.