Flora of North America species comparison

present or absent, horizontal and long or ascending and caudexlike, 0.3–0.5 mm thick, scales usually evident, without tubers.

to 2 times wider than thick, 35–60(–70) cm × 0.5–1.3 mm, hard, usually with to 10 blunt ribs, at 20X often finely ridged and minutely granular.

terete to angled, sometimes compressed, to 100 cm × 5 mm.

distal leaf sheaths brown to reddish.

distal leaf sheaths persistent, rarely disintegrating, membranous to papery.

3–12 × 3–4 mm;

proximal scale amplexicaulous, 3.5–4 mm, midrib region very broad and fleshy, apex entire;

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales 30–40, 8–10 per mm of rachilla, orange-brown to stramineous, midrib region stramineous, broadly ovate, papery or sometimes membranous, 3–4 × 2 mm, apex entire, rounded.

to 40 × 7 mm;

floral scales 5–500+ per spikelet.

perianth bristles present, sometimes rudimentary, brown, length variable, obscurely retrorsely spinulose;

anthers brown, 1.7–2.2 mm.

anthers 0.2–2.5 mm;

styles 2-fid or 3-fid.

subdeltoid in outline, sometimes broadly obpyriform, equilaterally trigonous, angles prominent, 0.9–1.2 × 0.7–1.1 mm, apex truncate.

variously colored, biconvex to trigonous, 0.4–2 mm, smooth to markedly sculptured at 10X.

sessile, depressed-pyramidal, often apiculate, as wide as achene, 0.3–0.5 × 0.7–1.1 mm.

usually clearly different from achene apex in color, texture, and form, rarely merging with apex.