Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect to arching, leafy, linear to filiform, nearly triangular.

ascending to spreading, overtopped by scape;

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

ascending, overtopped by culm;

blades flat, linear to filiform, to 1.8 mm wide, apex distally involute, trigonous, setaceous.

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, spikelet clusters 2–4, widely spaced, the lowest near plant base;

clusters compact, broadly turbinate to hemispheric, to 1.5 cm wide; leafy bracts curved, setaceous, slightly to greatly overtopping subtended compounds.

white, ovoid, 5–7 mm;

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

dark brown, lance-ellipsoid, 2–3 mm;

fertile scales 2 mm, apex acute, midrib short-excurrent or not.

perianth absent.

perianth bristles 6, ± as long as fruit body, retrorsely 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.

mostly 2 per spikelet, 1.5–1.9 mm;

body brown with yellowish center, ellipsoid, lenticular distal to short stipe, 1–1.3 × 0.6–0.8 mm;

tubercle triangular, 0.3–0.6 mm, distinctly shorter than fruit body.

= 12.