Flora of North America species comparison

erect to excurvedascending, narrowly linear to ± filiform, terete to obscurely trigonous, leafy, densely so toward base, stiff to rather lax.

lax, leafy, mostly excurved, slender.

overtopped by culm;

blades linear, ascending, proximally flat, 1–4 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering gradually.

shorter than culm;

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

spikelet clusters 1–3(–4), proximal mostly widely spaced, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric, to 2 cm broad; leafy bracts subulate, exceeding proximal spikelets, slightly or not exceeding most distal clusters.

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

redbrown, narrowly ovoid, (3–)3.5–5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, 3–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute, mostly with cusp or mucro 0.5–1 mm.

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

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

bristles 5–6, from rudimentary to reaching tubercle tip, or (rarely) beyond, antrorsely barbellate.

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

1–3 per spikelet, (1.5–)2–2.2(–2.5) mm;

body dark brown with pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid to ± orbicular, (1.3–)1.5–1.7(–1.9) × 1–1.5 mm, margins pale, narrow or narrowly rounded, flowing to tubercle;

surfaces dull, minutely longitudinally striate;

tubercle compressed, triangular to triangularsubulate, 0.5–0.7(–0.9) mm.

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.