Flora of North America species comparison

erect to excurved, leafybased, narrowly linear, ± terete.

arching, leafy, obscurely and convexly trigonous, multi-ribbed, slender to stoutish.

shorter than culm;

blades ascending, narrowly linear, proximally flat or margins slightly involute, 0.5–1(–2) mm wide, distally canaliculate, apex trigonous, tapering, subulate.

spikelet clusters 1–3, laterals 0–2, all turbinate to hemispheric, terminal internode usually excurved; leafy bracts setaceous, overtopping inflorescence.

spikelet clusters 3–several, widely spaced, often equidistant, mostly hemispheric to globose, occasionally lobed, 1–2 cm thick;

bracteal leaves much exceeding subtended inflorescence.

redbrown, lanceoloid, 5–7 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales lanceolate, (2.5–)4–5 mm, apex acute to acuminate;

midrib paralleled by several indistinct ribs, excurrent as short awns.

dark red-brown to dark brown, lanceellipsoid to ellipsoid, 4–5(–6) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales elliptic, 3–3.5(–4.5) mm, apex acute, midribs 3, laterals indistinct.

bristles 6, reaching from mid tubercle to beyond tip.

perianth bristles 6, reaching tubercle tip, retrorsely (rarely antrorsely) barbellate.

3(–4) per spikelet, 2.1–2.5 mm;

stipe and receptacle 0.2–0.3 mm, sparsely setose and setulose;

body glossy, brown with pale center, obovoid-lenticular, 1.1–1.5 × 1–1.1 mm, surfaces finely longitudinally lined, variably low papillatecancellate, also often transversely with wavy lines of dark dots;

tubercle flattened, triangular-subulate, (0.8–)0.9–1(–1.1) mm, setulose-ciliate.

1(–2) per spikelet, 3.5–4(–4.2) mm;

body brown with pale center, obovoid distal to stipe, lenticular, 2–2.3 × 1–1.5(–2) mm;

tubercle triangular-subulate, (1–)1.5–2 mm, at least 0.5 mm wide at base.

leaves overtopped by culm;

blades linear, flat proximally, 1.5–3 mm wide, apex tapering, trigonous.