Flora of North America species comparison

leafy at base, filiform, wiry.

blades filiform, nearly reaching inflorescence tip or much shorter, to 0.3 mm thick, apex tapering.

exceeded by culm;

blades lax, linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex abruptly narrowed, trigonous, subulate.

spikelet clusters mostly 2–6, simple or reduced to 1 spikelet, often with 2 capillary branches, one divaricate or reflexed, 1 ascending; leafy bracts single per cluster, filiform, setaceous, with clusters appearing lateral to bracts.

spikelet clusters 4–6, mostly widely spaced;

peduncles erect or ascending, slender;

branches capillary, divaricate, or widely spreading, to small clusters of 1–few spikelets; leafy bracts mostly exceeding clusters.

pale redbrown, ellipsoidlanceoloid, 5–6(–8) mm, apex acute to acuminate;

fertile scales narrowly ovate, 3–5(–6) mm, apex acute, midrib included or shortexcurrent.

lanceovoid, 3–4(–6) mm, apex acute to acuminate;

fertile scales elliptic, 2.5 mm, apex acute, midrib forming mucro or awn.

perianth bristles 6, not reaching past fruit midbody, stubby, plumose to near tip.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

3–8 per spikelet, 2–2.5 mm;

body light brown to brown, ellipsoid-obovoid, tumidly lenticular, 1.5–2 × 1.6–1.7 mm;

surfaces faintly, interruptedly crossrugulose, apically indented under tubercle;

tubercle lowconic, 0.5 mm, base flaring, circular.

mostly 2–4(–several) per spikelet, (1.5–)1.8–2(–2.1);

body greenish or pale brown, broadly ellipsoid to narrowly obovoid, lenticular, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm;

surfaces transversely finely wavy-rugulose, intervals vertically striatealveolate, or alveolae isodiametric;

tubercle flat, triangular-subulate, 0.5–0.6(–0.8) mm.