Flora of North America species comparison

present, caudexlike, mostly concealed by crowded culms, vertical or ascending, 2 mm thick;

internodes very short, scales disintegrating to fibers, 4 mm, papery.

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

erect to ascending or arching, acutely quadrangular, deeply sulcate, 7–50 cm × 0.3–0.5 mm, smooth, firm.

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

distal leaf sheaths persistent, proximally brown or reddish, distally stramineous to green, thickly membranous, apex acute or subacute.

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

basal spikelets absent; often proliferous, ovoid, terete, 3–10 × 2–3 mm, apex acute;

proximal scale empty, amplexicaulous, similar to floral scales;

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales spiraled, 8–15, 4 per mm of rachilla, orange-brown, midrib region broadly stramineous or like flanks, ovate, 2–3 × 1.2–2 mm, membranous, midrib evident to prominent, apex acute (to rounded).

to 40 × 7 mm;

floral scales 5–500+ per spikelet.

perianth bristles 6 or fewer, stramineous, unequal, some or most equaling achene, spinules obscure, sparse, retrorse, sharply acute.

anthers 0.2–2.5 mm;

styles 2-fid or 3-fid.

3;

anthers 1.2–1.5 mm.

3-fid.

stramineous, broadly obpyriform, equilaterally trigonous, angles evident, blunt, 0.9–1.1 × 0.7–0.9 mm, apex nearly truncate, smooth or obscurely papillose or rugulose at 20X.

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

stramineous, pyramidal, trigonous, usually acute, proximally trilobed, the lobes decurrent on achene, 0.5–0.9 × 0.7–0.9 mm.

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