Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect or excurved, mostly filiform, leafy proximal to midculm, obtuse-angled to subterete, wiry.

overtopped by culm;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 1–2 mm wide, distally tapering-triquetrous.

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.

spikelet clusters 2–3(–4), distant, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric, mostly shorter than subtending setaceous bract.

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.

red-brown, lanceoloid, 2.5–3(–4) mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scale elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, acute, midrib excurrent as cusp or aristula.

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

bristles 6, reaching tubercle tip or beyond, antrorsely barbellate, base setose.

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.

2–4 per spikelet, 1.5–1.7 mm, on setose pedicellar joint 0.2 mm, body with faces red-brown with pale glassy center, decurrent tubercle base;

surfaces smooth;

turbercle concavely triangular, 0.4–0.6 mm, setulose-ciliate.

leaves mostly overtopped by culm;

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