Flora of North America species comparison

erect to arching or spreading, leafy, ± filiform, ± terete, stiff to rather lax.

spreading to erect, leafy, obtusely triangular.

exceeded by culm;

blades linearfiliform, proximally shallowly concave, 1 mm, apex tapering, trigonous, blunt or broadly acute.

often exceeding inflorescences;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 1–3 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering.

spikelet clusters 1–2, mostly compact, turbinate to hemispheric; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding spikelet clusters.

terminal and axillary, clusters of 1–5 corymbs; leafy bracts much exceeding corymbs.

dark redbrown, ovoid, 2–3 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales obovate, 1.5–1.7(–2) mm, apex broadly rounded or retuse, midrib excurrent as cusp or mucro to 0.5 mm.

few to several, on ascending, stiff, short-to-elongate branches, red-brown to brown, lanceoloid, (5–)6–10 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales many, ovate, shallowly convex, 5 mm, apex acuminate;

midrib short-excurrent or not.

bristles 6 or vestigial, rarely reaching fruit midbody, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth absent.

1–2 per spikelet,1.7–2 mm;

body brown with large pale center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to ± orbicular, 1.2–1.5 × 1.4–1.6 mm;

tubercle flat, triangular, concave-sided, 0.4–0.6 mm, sometimes apiculate.

1.5 mm;

body dark brown to black, tumidly lenticular, nearly orbicular, 0.8–0.9 × 0.6–0.7 mm, margins grooved, discontinuous with tubercle;

surfaces transversely wavyrugose, ridges of contiguous rows of vertical, linear, raised cells;

tubercle broad, low triangular, 0.2–0.3 mm, crustaceous, base capping fruit summit, raised at ends, apex shortacuminate.