Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect or ascending, leafy, nearly terete or obscurely angular, many-ribbed, stiff.

exceeding or exceeded by inflorescences;

blades linear, proximally flat, 1–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering.

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, clusters of corymbs 1–5, diffuse, branches ascending to divaricate; leafy bracts much exceeding axillary corymbs.

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.

redbrown to dark brown, ovoidlanceoloid, 3–6(–7) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales several, narrowly ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex narrowly acute;

midrib included or shortexcurrent.

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

perianth absent.

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.

1.3–1.5 mm;

body brown to blackish, tumidly lenticular, nearly orbicular, 0.6–1 × 0.6–1 mm, margins distinct, narrow, flowing into base of tubercle;

tubercle flat, narrowly triangular, at least 0.5 mm high, base broadly 2-lobed, apex acuminate.

leaves mostly overtopped by culm;

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