Flora of North America species comparison

erect to spreading, leafybased;

scapes nearly filiform, nearly trigonous, few ribbed.

erect to ascending, leafy, slender, angular.

spreading to erect, exceeded by scape;

blades filiform to linear, proximally flat or involute, becoming involute, 0.4–2 mm wide, apex tapering, trigonous.

exceeded by culm;

blades linear, proximally flat, 3–6 mm wide, apex tapering, trigonous, subulate.

terminal, solitary, headlike, dense, white, leafyinvolucrate, 0.5–1 cm wide;

involucral bracts 3–6, spreading to recurved, whitebased, greentipped, narrowly linear, longest bract elongatesubulate, 4–8 cm × 2–5 mm.

of terminal and axillary clusters, 3–5, proximalmost widely spaced, turbinate or lobed, fascicles dense, branches ascending; leafy bracts exceeding all but proximalmost clusters.

white, ovoid, 4–6 mm;

scales several, boatshaped, basal ones with ciliolate keel, fertile ones 3–3.8 mm.

rich redbrown, ovoid, (4–)5–6(–7) mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, (3.5–)4–5 mm, apex acuminate, midrib short or longexcurrent.

perianth absent.

perianth bristles 6, reaching past tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

1–1.2 mm;

body yellow to black, nearly orbicular, tumidly lenticular, 0.8–1 × 0.6–0.7(–1) mm;

surface lattices shortlinear, vertical in fine undulating rows, with ends raised to rounded, transverse rugulosities;

tubercle lowtriangular, lunate, 0.2–0.3 mm, apex acute, blunt or apiculate.

mostly 3–4(–7) per spikelet, 3 mm with pedicellar joint and tubercle;

body pale yellowbrown, obovoidlenticular, 1.4–1.7 × 1.4 × 1.5;

surfaces transversely finely wavyrugulose, intervals vertically rectangularalveolate;

pedicellar joint 0.3–0.6 mm;

tubercle compressed, triangularacuminate, 0.5–0.6 (–1) mm, margin setulose.