Flora of North America species comparison

erect or ascending, slender, leafy proximal to middle, somewhat stiff.

stiffly erect to ascending, linear, leafy toward base, sharply trigonous, angles scabrid.

overtopped by culm;

blades ascending, ± filiform, proximally flat or slightly concave, to 1 mm wide, apex narrowing, trigonous, abruptly blunt.

shorter than culm;

basal leaves forming strong rosette, shortlinear, flat, 3–5 mm wide, distal more widely spaced, narrower, apex shortacuminate, trigonous.

spikelet clusters 1–2, if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric or even globose;

primary leafy bract setaceous, exceeding clusters.

spikelet clusters 1(–2), if 2 then closely set;

terminal cluster mostly dense, hemispheric;

proximalmost leafy bract subulate, much exceeding clusters.

redbrown, ovoid, 2–2.5(–4) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales broadly ovate, 1.5–1.9(–2) mm, apex acute to acuminate, midrib excurrent as awn to 0.5 mm.

dark redbrown, ovoid, (4–)5–6 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, mostly 4–4.5 mm, apex excurvedcuspidate.

bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body.

bristles 12, reaching to or slightly beyond tubercle tip, antrorsely barbellate.

2–3 per spikelet, 1–1.2(–1.4) mm;

body dull dark brown with paler brown center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 1 × 0.8 mm, margins narrow, flowing to tubercle;

tubercle nearly equilaterally triangular, 0.2–0.3 mm.

1–2 per spikelet, 3–3.5(–3.7) mm;

body dark brown with paler center, dull, broadly ellipsoid-lenticular, 2–2.5 × 1.8–2 mm, smooth, margins flowing to tubercle;

tubercle flat, concavely triangular, 0.7–1(–1.2) mm.