Flora of North America species comparison

lax, leafy, mostly excurved, slender.

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

shorter than culm;

blades ascending, narrowly linear, proximally flat, 2–4(–5) mm wide, apex trigonous, short-subulate, tapering.

overtopped by culm;

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

spikelet clusters 3–7(–10), dense, all but most distal widely spaced, broadly turbinate to ovate or hemispheric.

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

light red-brown, lanciform, 5 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales lanceolate, 4–4.5 mm, apex acuminate, midrib excurrent as awn.

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

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

bristles 6, reaching past tubercle base, usually to or slightly past its tip, antrorsely barbellate.

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

2(–4) per spikelet;

stipe and receptacle curled-setose, (0.5–)0.6–08(–1) mm;

body glossy, brown with pale center, narrowly obovoid-lenticular, 1.2–1.5 mm, surfaces minutely striate, sometimes transversely minutely rugulose with wavy rows of dark minute dots;

margins narrow, strong, flowing to tubercle;

tubercle narrowly triangular, slightly concave-sided, flattened, setulose-ciliate, 0.7–1.1 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.