Flora of North America species comparison

erect to arching, leafy, trigonous, slender, firm.

leafy at base, filiform, wiry.

overtopped by culms;

blades linear, proximally flat, 3–7 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.

blades filiform, nearly reaching inflorescence tip or much shorter, to 0.3 mm thick, apex tapering.

spikelet clusters 2–6, sparse, widely spaced, turbinate;

peduncles and branches ascending; leafy bracts exceeding proximal clusters.

spikelet clusters mostly 2–6, simple or reduced to 1 spikelet, often with 2 capillary branches, one divaricate or reflexed, 1 ascending; leafy bracts single per cluster, filiform, setaceous, with clusters appearing lateral to bracts.

light redbrown, ovoid to ellipsoid, (4–)5–8(–9) mm, apex acute or acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, (5.5–)6–6.5(–7) mm, midrib included or shortexcurrent.

pale redbrown, ellipsoidlanceoloid, 5–6(–8) mm, apex acute to acuminate;

fertile scales narrowly ovate, 3–5(–6) mm, apex acute, midrib included or shortexcurrent.

perianth bristles 6(–8), mostly reaching from fruit midbody to tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles 6, not reaching past fruit midbody, stubby, plumose to near tip.

1–2 per spikelet, (3.5–)4–5 mm;

body dark brown to mahogany or nearly black, broadly obovoid, tumid, nearly smooth, buttressed to tubercle;

tubercle lowconic, rimmed, 0.7(–1) mm, apex apiculate.

3–8 per spikelet, 2–2.5 mm;

body light brown to brown, ellipsoid-obovoid, tumidly lenticular, 1.5–2 × 1.6–1.7 mm;

surfaces faintly, interruptedly crossrugulose, apically indented under tubercle;

tubercle lowconic, 0.5 mm, base flaring, circular.