Flora of North America species comparison

erect to curved, leafy, obscurely trigonous to nearly terete, few ribbed, slender.

stiffly erect, leafy, triangular, multiribbed;

principal leaves overtopped by culm;

blades flat, 3–20 mm wide, apex attenuate, trigonous.

clusters 1 or 2–3, then widely spaced, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric, 1.5–2.5 cm wide; subtending leafy bracts often exceeded by distal cluster.

terminal and axillary, diffuse clusters of corymbs, fascicles turbinate to hemispheric;

bracts often overtopping clusters.

pale brown to nearly white, ellipsoid, 3.5–5.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales elliptic, 3–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute or acuminate, midrib excurrent as mucro.

few to several per cluster, brown or reddish brown, lanceoloid, 10–15 mm, apex narrowly acute;

fertile scales broadly lanceolate, (7.5–)10–13(–14) mm, apex acute, midrib shortexcurrent or not.

perianth bristles 10–12, slightly overtopping tubercle, retrorsely barbellate or rarely smooth, base often setose.

perianth bristles 5–6, longest reaching to or slightly beyond fruit midbody, antrorsely barbellate.

1(–2) per spikelet, (2.3–)2.5–3 mm;

body pale brown with paler center, stipitateobovoid, lenticular, 1.5–1.8(–2) × 0.9–1.2 mm;

surfaces transversely striate, relatively smooth, rim narrow, flowing to tubercle base;

tubercle narrowly triangularsubulate, 0.5–1.2 mm.

1(–2) per spikelet, 13–20(–25) mm;

body oblongellipsoid, compressed, 4–5(–6) × 2–3 mm, base narrowed, short, margins thickened, often crimped, surfaces concave, striate, minutely cancellate or pebbled;

tubercle subulate, 2-grooved, 10–15(–20) mm, scabridulous.

leaves mostly overtopped by culm;

blades narrowly linear to filiform, proximally flat, 0.5–1.5 mm, apex tapering, trigonous.

= 18.