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.

erect to excurved, leafybased, filiform.

overtopped by culm;

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

shorter than culm;

blades ascending to excurved, filiform, proximally to 1 mm wide, margins involute, apex trigonous, 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 1–3, laterals 0–2, turbinate, rarely hemispheric; leafy bracts setaceous, overtopping inflorescence.

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.

redbrown, narrowly lanceoloid, 5–7 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales lanceolate, 3.5–5 mm, apex acute, mucronate.

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

perianth absent.

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(–5) per spikelet, (1.7–)2–2.2 mm;

body on short, setulose receptacular stipe, brown with pale center, obovoidlenticular, 0.8–1.1 mm, surfaces very finely longitudinally lined, sometimes faintly reticulatecancellate;

tubercle triangular subulate, 0.7–0.9 mm, base lunate, edges setulose.