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.

nearly distichous, mostly spreading, to 2/3 length of culms;

sheaths ciliate, sheath backs often pilose-hirsute;

ligule present, complete;

blades narrowly linear, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, flat or shallowly concave, margins scabrid, abaxial surface scattered-pilose, hirsute-ciliate at least proximally.

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.

anthelae simple or compound, open, divaricately branched, mostly as broad as long;

scapes slender, 1 mm wide, distally slightly compressed;

proximalmost involucral bract exceeding or shorter than anthela.

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.

pale brown or red-brown, ovoid to lanceoloid, 5–6 mm;

fertile scales broadly ovate, 1.5–2 mm, acute- to obtuse-angled, midrib short-excurrent as mucro.

stamens (1–)2;

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

stamens 1–2;

styles 2-fid, flat, fimbriate.

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

whitened-iridescent to brown, lenticular or pyriform-obovoid, 1 mm, cancellate, each face with 5–12 vertical rows of transversely oriented rectangular pits, achene margins distally papillose.

= 10.

= 20.