Flora of North America species comparison

often ascending or spreading, 4-angled or sometimes terete, sometimes sulcate, 1–7 cm × 0.2–0.3 mm, soft to firm.

ascending, quadrangular, sulcate (not sulcate in Eleocharis sp.

sheaths stramineous, distal sheaths often splitting abaxially, slightly inflated distally, oblique, apex acute.

distal leaf sheaths persistent or fugaceous, pale brown or green, sometimes streaked red-brown, membranous to translucent, apex acute to acuminate.

ovoid, 1.5–4 × 0.8–2 mm, apex acute;

floral scales 4–15, 8 per mm of rachilla, colorless or reddish brown, midrib region green, ovate-lanceolate, not folded lengthwise, 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.7 mm, mibrib obscure to somewhat keeled, apex narrowly acute to acuminate, slightly recurved.

basal spikelets absent; often proliferous, ellipsoid to ovoid, terete, 2–10.5 × 1–2.8 mm, apex acute;

proximal scale empty, persistent, amplexicaulous, dissimilar to floral scales, slightly longer, often resembling an involucral bract, elliptic or lanceolate, 1.4–2.7 × 0.8–1.2 mm, apex rounded, midrib markedly thickened and broad;

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales spiraled, 13–76, 9–13 per mm of rachilla, colorless or pale brown, streaked or mottled pale brown to red-brown, midribs sometimes green, ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 0.8–2.2 × 0.5–1 mm, papery or membranous, midrib evident to prominent, apex rounded.

perianth bristles absent;

anthers 0.3–0.5 mm.

perianth bristles 5–6 or absent, appressed to achene, white, vestigial to shorter than achene, to 0.3 mm;

spinules not evident at 45X;

stamens 2–3;

anthers 0.2–0.45 mm;

styles 3-fid.

with angles and longitudinal ridges ca. 6–10, rather prominent, broadly ovoid, less than 2 times longer then wide, (0.55–)0.65–0.75 × 0.3–0.4 mm, apex blunt, trabeculae distinct, 20–30.

grayish to pale olive or yellowish, often minutely brown-spotted, obovoid, trigonous, angles prominent, 0.45–0.8 × 0.3–0.55 mm, apex constricted proximal to tubercle, smooth or finely pitted at 30X.

grayish, mostly appressed, pyramidal, often depressed, 0.1–0.2 × 0.1–0.25 mm.

gray, green, or yellowish, birettaform, trigonous, 0.05–0.1 × 0.15–0.3 mm.

.

), 7–37 cm × 0.2–0.6 mm, soft to firm.

= 10.