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.

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.

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.

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.

yellowish, mostly turgidly ovoid, 5–8 mm;

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

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

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

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

stamens 1;

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

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

= 10.