Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect or excurved, lax, leafy, slender to wiry.

overtopped by culm;

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

overtopped by culm;

basal leaves spreading, twisted, distal longer, erect or ascending;

blades proximally flat, 1–3 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, 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 1–4, proximalmost widely spaced, spikelets elongate, open, turbinate or compactlobed hemispheric;

branches erect to ascending; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding proximal clusters, exceeded by distal 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.

mostly dark brown to brown, globose to broadly ovoid, (2–)2.5–3(–4) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales broadly ovate to orbiculate, 1.7–2.3 mm, apex obtuse to rounded or emarginate, midrib mostly included, sometimes excurrent as apiculus.

bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body.

perianth bristles 6 or less, antrorsely barbellate, of various lengths.

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.

1–3 per spikelet, 1.5–1–8 mm (–2 mm in var. pinetorum);

body tumidly biconvex;

surfaces transversely wavyrugose, intervals of vertically rectangular alveolae or transverserugosity indistinct, surface isodiametrically alveolate or cancellate;

tubercle shortconic to patelliformapiculate.