Flora of North America species comparison

2–40 cm × 0.5–1.5(–2) mm.

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

apex of distal leaf sheath obtuse to acute, tooth to 0.3 mm.

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

lanceoloid to subcylindric or ovoid, 5–10(–20) × 2–3(–4) mm, apex acute (to rounded);

proximal scale empty, encircling ca. 2/3 of culm;

floral scales 25–100(–200), 8–12 per mm of rachilla, orangebrown to stramineous, 2(–2.5) × 1–1.3 mm, midribs mostly keeled, ovate, apex narrowly rounded to subacute.

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 present or often absent, 5–8, brown, stout, rudimentary to slightly exceeding tubercle;

stamens (2–)3;

anthers brown to yellow, 0.3–0.7(–1) mm;

styles 2–3-fid.

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.

0.9–1.1(–1.5) × 0.7–1.1 mm.

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.

depressed, subdeltoid, 0.1–0.3(–0.4) × 0.6–0.9(–1) mm, 1/10–2/5 as high as wide, 1/4 or less as high as achene, 9/10 as wide as achene, very rarely 2/5 as high as achene (in E. engelmannii var. robusta).

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.

= 10.