Flora of North America species comparison

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

mostly lax, ascending to leaningexcurved, leafy, linear to filiform, terete.

overtopped by culms;

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

shorter than culm;

blades ascending, filiform to narrowly linear, proximally flat, 0.5–1.5(–2.5) mm wide, margins distally strongly involute, apex trigonous, tapering.

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

peduncles and branches ascending; leafy bracts exceeding proximal clusters.

spikelet clusters 1–3(–4), proximalmost distant, dense to sparse, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric;

peduncles and branches ascending; leafy bracts linearsetaceous, mostly overtopping clusters.

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.

redbrown, ovoid to lanceoloid, (3.5–)4–5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, 3–4.5 mm, apex acute, mucronate to awnedcuspidate.

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

bristles 6, mostly reaching tip of tubercle or beyond, antrorsely barbellate.

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.

1–3 per spikelet, (2.5–)3–3.5(–4.1) mm;

body dark brown with small pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid to suborbicular, 1.3–2.1 × 1.3–1.5 mm, smooth, margins narrow, flowing into tubercle;

tubercle triangular-subulate, compressed, mostly 1.5–2 mm.