Flora of North America species comparison

4–40 cm × 0.2–0.5 mm.

2–20 cm × 0.2–0.3 mm.

sometimes sparsely orange-punctate at 10–15X;

sheaths usually reddish proximally;

distal blade rudimentary to much longer than sheath, often exceeding culm, to 20 cm × 0.2–1 mm.

sheaths green to stramineous;

distal blade mostly much longer than sheath, to 3 cm × 0.2 mm.

involucral bract 1, sometimes subtending flower or resembling enlarged floral scale, 2–6(–23) mm.

involucral bract 1, 3–10(–25) mm, rarely a second bract to 5 mm.

2–5 × 1–2 mm;

scales partly or completely dark orange to red-brown, rarely stramineous, midrib greenish to stramineous, not gibbous, obscurely to prominently 3–11-veined, midrib keeled near apex, membranous, hyaline, apex rounded to acute, with mucro less than 0.1 mm;

proximal scale to 2 mm;

other scales 1.2–1.8 × 1–1.3 mm.

2–8 × 1–1.5 mm;

scales colorless, stramineous, or pale greenish, markedly gibbous, veinless or obscurely 3–7-veined, midrib keeled, finely reticulate at 40X, membranous, hyaline, apex rounded, mucronate, or awned;

proximal scale to 1.5(–5) mm, awn to 3 mm;

other scales 1–1.2 mm, apex, mucro 0.1 mm.

anthers 0.3–0.6 mm;

styles 3-fid or 3-fid and 2-fid.

anthers 0.2 mm;

styles 3-fid.

falling separately from scales, medium to dark brown or stramineous, ellipsoid to obovoid, compressed-trigonous to thickly biconvex, lateral angles usually prominent, abaxial angle prominent to obscure, faces convex or adaxial face slightly concave, 0.8–1 × 0.5–0.7 mm, distinctly papillose at 10–15X to obscurely papillose at 40X, often with thin whitish surface layer.

often falling with and clasped by floral scales, whitish (or orange-brown when unripe), broadly ellipsoid to obovoid or outline subcircular, nearly equilaterally trigonous, faces convex, 0.7–0.9 × 0.5–0.6 mm, minutely papillose at 40X, papillae in many vertical rows or usually obscured by thick whitish surface layer.

= 30.