Flora of North America species comparison

stiffly erect to ascending, linear, leafy toward base, sharply trigonous, angles scabrid.

erect with arching tops, leafy, obscurely trigonous, slender.

shorter than culm;

basal leaves forming strong rosette, shortlinear, flat, 3–5 mm wide, distal more widely spaced, narrower, apex shortacuminate, trigonous.

overtopped by inflorescence;

blades linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.

spikelet clusters 1(–2), if 2 then closely set;

terminal cluster mostly dense, hemispheric;

proximalmost leafy bract subulate, much exceeding clusters.

spikelet clusters mostly 4–6, various in shape and crowding, narrowly to broadly turbinate;

peduncles erect, branches slender, ascending; leafy bracts exceeding all but most distal clusters.

dark redbrown, ovoid, (4–)5–6 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, mostly 4–4.5 mm, apex excurvedcuspidate.

redbrown, broadly ellipsoid, (1.5–)2–3(–3.5) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales broadly ovate, 2–3 mm, midrib excurrent as apiculus or awn.

bristles 12, reaching to or slightly beyond tubercle tip, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles 6, mostly spreading, usually exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

1–2 per spikelet, 3–3.5(–3.7) mm;

body dark brown with paler center, dull, broadly ellipsoid-lenticular, 2–2.5 × 1.8–2 mm, smooth, margins flowing to tubercle;

tubercle flat, concavely triangular, 0.7–1(–1.2) mm.

2–3(–4) per spikelet, 1.5(–1.7) mm;

body pale brown to brown, strongly flattened, obovoidorbicular, 1–1.2 × 0.8–1.1;

surfaces transversely wavyrugose, intervals vertically striate with very narrowly rectangular alveolae;

tubercle flat, triangular or concavely triangular, 0.3–0.5(–0.7) mm.