Flora of North America species comparison

erect or spreadingarching, linearfiliform, terete, leafy toward base.

erect or curved, leafy, filiform, angularly fewribbed.

overtopped by culm;

blades ascending, filiform, 0.3–0.5 mm wide, margins deeply involute, then channeled, apex trigonous, setaceous.

ascending-excurved, overtopped by culm;

blades filiform, involute, apex setaceous.

spikelet clusters 1–2(–4), dense(–open), narrowly to broadly turbinate;

branches capillary, variously elongate; leafy bracts setaceous, proximal exceeding clusters.

spikelet clusters 1–2(–3), often sparse, ellipsoid or narrowly turbinate, less than 1 cm wide; subtending foliaceous bracts exceeding compounds.

brownish, lanceellipsoid to fusiform, 2–2.5(–3) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales broadly elliptic, 1.5 mm, apex narrowly rounded to broadly acute, apiculate, convexcupulate, midrib narrow, shortexcurrent or included.

erect or ascending, pale redbrown to brown, fusiform, 6–7 mm;

fertile scales elliptic, 4 mm, apex rounded or acute, midrib shortexcurrent or not.

perianth absent.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle base, mostly retrorsely barbellate, sometimes smooth [forma laeviseta (E.

1–3 or more per spikelet, (0.6–)0.7–0.9(–1) mm;

body pale, glassy, obovoidlenticular, 0.6–0.7 × 0.4–0.5 mm, margins narrow, wirelike;

surfaces finely striate, very finely reticulate;

tubercle button depressedtriangular or patelliform, 0.1–0.15 mm, apiculate.

1–4(–5) per spikelet, 2.5–3 mm;

body pale brown, slender stipitate, ellipsoid, lenticular, 1.5–2 × 0.8–1 mm;

surfaces longitudinally minutely striate, obscurely transversely lowrugose, dotted;

tubercle narrowly triangularsubulate, flattened, 0.8–1.7 mm.

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) Fernald].