Flora of North America species comparison

short.

short, slender, bearing few to several white, swollen (storage) leaf bases.

cespitose, 15–30(–35) cm.

weakly cespitose or solitary, 8–40 cm.

sheath throat acutely angled, pilose;

basal leaf blade 5–10 cm × 3–8 mm, apex short acuminate, mostly glabrous;

cauline leaves (1–)2–4, 3–5 cm × 2–4 mm.

basal leaves few;

cauline leaves 2–3, to 17 cm × 7 mm, margins scarcely to densely ciliate.

anthelate, few flowered;

main branches generally 2–4, spreading less than 90°, lax, usually arching;

proximal inflorescence bract 1 cm or less;

bracts and bracteoles brown;

margins with long curly cilia.

glomerules 3–20 (each with 6–20 flowers), central glomerules sessile or nearly sessile, cylindric, 5–12 × 5–7 mm;

peduncles straight, erect, 0.5–7 cm;

proximal inflorescence bract leaflike (margins pilose), shorter than inflorescence, margins pilose;

bracts purplish with long clear apex, sheathing, margins sparsely to densely ciliate;

bracteoles white-clear, shining, margins fimbriate.

solitary on short pedicels;

tepals dark purplish brown (margins finely lacerate toward apex), 2–2.5 mm, margins finely lacerate toward apex, apex acute, not reflexed;

anthers ± equaling filament length;

stigmas 2 times style length.

tepals with shining chestnut centers and usually wide clear margins and apex, 2–3 mm;

outer whorl usually exceeding inner whorl, at least by awned tip;

anthers 1–2 times filament length;

stigmas 3–4 times length of styles.

dark brown, less than 2.5 mm, slightly longer than tepals;

beak absent.

brown, shining, obovoid (apex truncate), equal or longer than tepals, apex truncate.

dark reddish brown, cylindric, 1.2–1.6 mm;

caruncle essentially absent.

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.9–1.3 mm;

caruncle 0.5–0.7 mm.

= 24.

= 12.