Flora of North America species comparison

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.

polystichous, spreading to ascending, to 1/2 length of culms or longer;

sheaths entire or ciliate distally, backs hirtellous;

ligule absent;

blades linear-filiform, 0.5 mm wide, flat or involute, scabridciliate, often abaxially hirtellous.

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.

anthelae simple or compound, mostly open, ascending-branched, mostly longer than broad;

scapes filiform, 0.5 mm wide, distally compressed, mostly glabrous;

longer involucral bracts leafy, equaling or exceeded by anthela.

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

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

greenish brown or brownish, lanceoloid or narrowly ellipsoid-cylindric, 4–5 mm;

fertile scales ovate, acute, glabrous, midrib excurrent as slender, excurved cusp.

stamens usually 1;

styles 2-fid, slender, glabrous.

stamens 1;

styles 2-fid, slender, base flat, long-fimbriate, hairs recurved over achene summit.

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

pale brown, lenticular, obovoid, 0.9 mm, smooth or very finely reticulate.

= 56.