Flora of North America species comparison

arching or erect, leafy-based, distally wandlike, terete, multiribbed.

stiffly erect or ascending, leafy-based, triangular, multiribbed.

ascending to spreading, overtopped by scape;

blades linear, proximally flat, 2.5–5 mm wide, apex subulate, trigonous.

ascending or erect, crowded toward culm base, shorter, more widely spaced distally, longest overtopping or equaling subtended inflorescences;

principal blades flat, trigonous distally, 4–6 mm wide, apex attenuate, trigonous.

terminal, headlike clusters of spikelets, clusters dense, leafy-involucrate;

involucral bracts several, spreading to downcurved, longest 6–13 cm × 5–10 mm, mostly white to midbract, then green, abruptly narrowly linear.

terminal and axillary, compounds of fascicles, nearly umbellate;

clusters hemispheric to nearly capitate, 1.5–2 cm wide; 1 cluster nearly sessile, others on slender rays to 7 cm, sometimes penultimate node with single cluster on peduncle 7–12 cm.

white, ovoid, 5–7 mm;

fertile scales boatshaped, sharply curved-keeled, 5 mm, apex acute.

light redbrown, lanceoloid, 6–7 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales lance-ovate, 5 mm, apex acute to blunt, midrib shortexcurrent or not.

perianth absent.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate.

several per spikelet, 1.5–2 mm;

body yellowish to deep brown, tumidly lenticular, broadly obovoid to orbicular or oblate, 1.5 mm, widest at or toward midbody, margins flowing to tubercle;

surfaces with many fine rows of vertical shallow lattices, their contiguous ends making transverse rows of papillae;

tubercle crescent-based, depressed-triangular, 0.5 mm, apex acute.

1 per spikelet, (5.5–)6–7 mm;

body obovoid, 3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, margins thick, crimped, surfaces level or concave, minutely pebbled;

tubercle narrowly conic, 2grooved, 3–4 mm, base blunt, stout, capping fruit apex, tip barely exserted.

= 12.