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, leafybased, wandlike, nearly terete, multiribbed.

overtopped by culm;

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

ascending or erect, longest nearly equaling culm;

principal blades linear, involutecylindric, to 3 mm wide, apex tapering, subulate.

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.

terminal, heads 1–4, dense, macelike, 1–1.5 mm thick;

involucral bracts leafy, proximalmost 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.

greenish, lanceovoid, 5–6 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales boat-shaped, 5 mm, apex acute to shortacuminate, midrib slightly excurrent or not.

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

perianth bristles 6, exceeding fruit body, 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.

1 per spikelet, 6–8(–8.7) mm;

body pale greenbrown, laterally compressed, obcordiform, 2.5–3(–4) mm, margins thick, rounded, not crimped, apex barely exserted, setulose, surfaces nearly plane, minutely cancellate (latticed);

tubercle (style base) linear, angled, 4–6 mm, much narrower than fruit summit, setulose.