Flora of North America species comparison

polystichous, mostly spreading to ascending;

sheath margins entire;

ligule present, complete;

blades narrowly linear, to 1 mm wide, flat to shallowly involute, margins distantly scabrid, surface glabrous.

distichous, in fans, to ca. 2/3 plant height;

sheaths keeled, equitant, margins entire;

ligule absent;

blades bifacial (flattened in same plane as sheath), narrowly triangularlinear, to 2 mm wide, margins scabrid at least distally.

spikelets 1, terminal or 2–3 in simple anthela longer than broad, laterals subsessile;

scapes narrowly linear, coarsely ribbed, distally compressed;

involucral bracts usually 1 per spikelet, exceeding or exceeded by it.

anthela compound, usually diffuse, branched, broadening upward, often as broad as long;

scapes slender, angularly ribbed and/or somewhat compressed distally, 1–1.5 mm wide or thick;

involucral bracts exceeded by anthela.

yellowish, mostly turgidly ovoid, 5–8 mm;

fertile scales broadly ovate, 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, entire, midrib excurrent or not.

dark red-brown, broadly ovoid to near round, 2–4 min;

fertile scales broadly ovate to orbiculate, 1 mm, glabrous, apex broadly rounded, midrib not excurrent.

stamens 3, styles 2-fid, flattened, fimbriate.

stamens 1–2;

styles 3-fid, slender, base dilated, apex pubescent.

near white to pale brown, lenticular-obovoid to obpyriform, 2 mm, appearing smooth under 10–20X magnification, under higher power finely longitudinally ribbed, with fine, isodiametric pits in vertical lines.

pale brown, tumid, obovoid, 1 mm, apiculate, reticulate, with pits narrowly rectangular in 4–6 vertical rows per side, the longitudinal ribs most prominent and mostly warty.

= 10.

= 10.