Flora of North America species comparison

erect to excurved, lax, filiform, leafy, ± terete.

stiffly erect or ascending, leafy-based, triangular, multiribbed.

exceeded by culm, ascending;

blades filiform, ± terete, margins strongly involute, apex trigonous, sulcate, tapering.

ascending or erect, crowded toward culm base, shorter, more widely spaced distally, longest overtopping or equaling subtended inflorescences;

principal blades flat, trigonous distally, 4–6 mm wide, apex attenuate, trigonous.

spikelet clusters mostly 2–3, sparse to dense, oblong to broadly or narrowly turbinate; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding clusters.

terminal and axillary, compounds of fascicles, nearly umbellate;

clusters hemispheric to nearly capitate, 1.5–2 cm wide; 1 cluster nearly sessile, others on slender rays to 7 cm, sometimes penultimate node with single cluster on peduncle 7–12 cm.

pale redbrown, lanceoloid, 3–3.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales mostly elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, apex acute, sometimes apiculate.

light redbrown, lanceoloid, 6–7 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales lance-ovate, 5 mm, apex acute to blunt, midrib shortexcurrent or not.

bristles mere nubs or 1–2, to 0.3 mm.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate.

mostly 2 per spikelet, 1.5–1.6 mm;

body redbrown with pale center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to orbicular, margins pale, narrow, flowing to tubercle;

surfaces smoothish, or faintly cancellate;

tubercle flattened, triangularsubulate, 0.3–0.5 mm.

1 per spikelet, (5.5–)6–7 mm;

body obovoid, 3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, margins thick, crimped, surfaces level or concave, minutely pebbled;

tubercle narrowly conic, 2grooved, 3–4 mm, base blunt, stout, capping fruit apex, tip barely exserted.