Flora of North America species comparison

nearly distichous, spreading to ascending, 1/2 length of culms;

sheath margins entire, backs smooth to pubescent;

ligule present, complete;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 2–3.5(–4) mm wide, margins scabrid-ciliate, abaxial surface sometimes pubescent.

polystichous, mostly spreading or excurved, often exceeding culms;

sheaths entire, abaxially smooth or sparsely hirtellous;

ligule absent;

blades filiform, to 0.5 mm wide, somewhat involute, abaxially glabrous or ascending-strigillose.

anthelae simple or compound, longer than wide;

scapes wandlike, nearly terete or slightly compressed, distally 1 mm thick, marginal ribs scabrid;

longest primary involucral bract shorter than panicle.

terminal;

spikelets sessile or subsessile in single capitate leafy-involucrate cluster;

scapes filiform;

involucral bracts leafy, setaceous, greatly overtopping inflorescence.

pale dull brown, lance-ovoid to cylindric-ellipsoid, 10–12 mm;

fertile scales ovate, 3.5–4 mm, apex broadly acute, ciliate, surface uniformly puberulent, midrib excurrent as mucro or cusp.

greenish, cylindric to lanceoloid-cylindric, 5–10 mm;

fertile scales narrowly ovate to lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm, acute, glabrous, midrib strong, excurrent as cusp.

stamens 3;

styles 2-fid, flat, fimbriate.

stamens 1;

styles 2-fid, slender, bulbous-based, smooth or papillate.

dark brown, lenticular-obovoid, 1.5 mm, finely cancellate, with 20 or more longitudinal rows of horizontally rectangular pits per side.

pale, tumidly obovoid, 0.5–0.7 mm, cancellate, pits horizontally rectangular in 5–7 vertical rows per side.

= 20.

= 20.