Flora of North America species comparison

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

mostly lax, ascending to leaningexcurved, leafy, linear to filiform, terete.

overtopped by culm;

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

shorter than culm;

blades ascending, filiform to narrowly linear, proximally flat, 0.5–1.5(–2.5) mm wide, margins distally strongly involute, apex trigonous, 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 1–3(–4), proximalmost distant, dense to sparse, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric;

peduncles and branches ascending; leafy bracts linearsetaceous, mostly overtopping 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.

redbrown, ovoid to lanceoloid, (3.5–)4–5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, 3–4.5 mm, apex acute, mucronate to awnedcuspidate.

bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body.

bristles 6, mostly reaching tip of tubercle or beyond, 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.

1–3 per spikelet, (2.5–)3–3.5(–4.1) mm;

body dark brown with small pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid to suborbicular, 1.3–2.1 × 1.3–1.5 mm, smooth, margins narrow, flowing into tubercle;

tubercle triangular-subulate, compressed, mostly 1.5–2 mm.