Flora of North America species comparison

erect to spreading, leafybased;

scapes nearly filiform, nearly trigonous, few ribbed.

leafiest at base, trigonous, slender, somewhat stiff.

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 culms;

basal blades spreading, blunt, distal ascending, linear, proximally flat, 2–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.

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.

spikelet clusters 3–5 or more, compact, proximalmost widely spaced, turbinate to hemispheric or lobed;

peduncles ascending, branches ascending; leafy bracts setaceous at apex, exceeding compounds, setaceous bracts often exceeding ultimate clusters, imparting bristly aspect.

white, ovoid, 4–6 mm;

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

redbrown, ovoid to lanceoloid, (2.7–)3–4 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, 2.5–3 mm, apex acute, shortacuminate, or notched, midrib usually excurrent as cusp or awn.

perianth absent.

perianth bristles 6, not reaching further than fruit midbody.

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.

1–3 per spikelet, (1.8–)2–2.3(–2.5) mm;

body brown, tumidly lenticular, obovoid to suborbicular, 1.4–1.6(–1.8) × 1.2–1.5 mm;

surfaces transversely sharply rugose, intervals of rows of vertical, variously rectangular alveolae;

tubercle somewhat compressed, triangular to shortconic, 0.5–0.7 mm, shortsubulate, basal rim often present.