Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect to excurved, lax, filiform, leafy, ± terete.

overtopped by culm;

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

exceeded by culm, ascending;

blades filiform, ± terete, margins strongly involute, apex trigonous, sulcate, tapering.

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 mostly 2–3, sparse to dense, oblong to broadly or narrowly turbinate; leafy bracts setaceous, 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.

pale redbrown, lanceoloid, 3–3.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales mostly elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, apex acute, sometimes apiculate.

bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body.

bristles mere nubs or 1–2, to 0.3 mm.

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.

mostly 2 per spikelet, 1.5–1.6 mm;

body redbrown with pale center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to orbicular, margins pale, narrow, flowing to tubercle;

surfaces smoothish, or faintly cancellate;

tubercle flattened, triangularsubulate, 0.3–0.5 mm.