Flora of North America species comparison

distichous, shorter or longer than culms;

sheaths keeled, entire or distally ciliate;

ligule of short hairs complete;

blades narrowly linear, 1–3 mm wide, flat, margin scabrid-ciliate.

polystichous, mostly spreading-excurved, to 1/2 as long as culms;

sheaths usually entire;

ligule absent;

blades linear, 2–3 mm wide, flat or shallowly involute, margin scabrid, apex blunt.

anthelae compound, mostly diffuse, mostly turbinate, as broad as long, ascending-branching;

scapes filiform to linear, distally variously compressed, sometimes alate, 0.5–1.5(–2) mm wide, edges scabrid;

primary involucral bract usually 1, blade exceeding or exceeded by anthela.

simple or compound anthelae with numerous small pedunculate clusters of sessile spikelets;

scapes linear, distally terete, 1–2 mm thick;

involucral bracts short, usually shorter than inflorescence.

red-brown or brown, mostly narrowly lanceoloid to narrowly ellipsoid, 3–7 mm;

fertile scales lanceolate, keeled, 1.5–2 mm, narrowly acute, glabrous, midrib excurrent as mucro.

greenish brown or yellow-brown, ovoid, 2–3 mm;

fertile scales broadly ovate, 1–1.5 mm, obtuse or apically notched, midrib not excurrent.

stamens (1–)2;

styles 3-fid, slender, with 3angled base, glabrous.

stamens usually 1;

styles 2-fid, slender, glabrous.

pale brown, trigonous-obovoid, 0.5–0.7 mm, apiculate and 3-ribbed, smooth to variably warty.

dark brown to nearly black, tumidly obovoid, rarely obscurely 3-ribbed, 1 mm, faintly striate to variously warty, faintly reticulate.

= 10.

= 56.