Flora of North America species comparison

(10–)20–90 cm × 0.5–0.8(–1.5) mm, scabrous distally.

solitary or not, trigonous or terete.

blades trigonous-channeled in cross section, to 45 cm × 1–1.5(–3) mm;

distal leaf blade 3–25 cm × 1–1.5 mm, longer than its (1–)2.5–9 cm sheath.

basal and cauline;

cauline leaves sometimes bladeless sheaths;

ligules present;

blades filiform to flat with filiform tip, to 25 cm × 2.5–4 mm.

blade-bearing involucral bracts solitary, similar to distal leaf, blade sometimes brown proximally, 0.8–6 cm.

terminal, spikelets solitary, erect or (1–)2–10(–30) in subcapitate or subumbellate panicle;

involucral bracts 1–several, scalelike or blade-bearing and leaflike throughout.

(1–)2–7, in subumbels, ovoid, 7–10 mm in flower, 20–30 mm in fruit;

peduncles 5–20(–60) mm, scabrous;

scales green to red-brown to almost black, sometimes with green center, ovate-elliptic, 3–4.5 mm, scarious, margins narrow, to 0.2 mm, midrib prominent, fading distally or proximal scale with 2–4 thinner or equally prominent lateral ribs, apex obtuse.

scales (10–)20–200, spirally arranged, each subtending flower, or proximal empty.

perianth bristles 10 or more, cream, 10–20 mm, smooth;

anthers 1–2 mm.

bisexual;

perianth persistent, of (8–)10–25 hairlike, smooth bristles, or very rarely 6 antrorsely barbed bristles, greatly elongate, essentially straight, usually obscuring most of scales in spikelet, much longer than achene;

stamens 1–3;

styles deciduous, linear, 3-fid.

narrowly obovoid, 2.5–3 mm.

trigonous.