Flora of North America species comparison

erect to arching-ascending, leafy, wand-like.

erect or ascending, leafy, trigonous, slender.

mostly basal, few and increasingly distant upculm, shorter than scape;

blades narrowly linear, concave proximally, (1–)2–3 mm wide, tapering and increasingly involute-sulcate proximally, margins scabrid, apex triquetrous, tip narrow but blunt.

all exceeded by culm;

basal blades spreading, often curled, distal longer, all proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulately tapering.

clusters 1(–2), if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric;

primary leafy bracts linear, stiff, exceeding clusters.

clusters 3–5, proximalmost distant, longest pedunculate, fascicles broadly turbinate to hemispheric; leafy bracts of distal groups mostly exceeded by inflorescence.

light brown, narrowly lanceoloid, 8–10 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales lanceolate, convex, (6–)7–8 mm, apex narrowly acute, low midrib short-excurrent or not.

lanceovoid, (3.5–)4–5 mm;

fertile scales broadly ovate to ± orbiculate, cupulate, rounded, 3 mm, apex apiculate to cuspidate, midrib excurrent.

perianth bristles 6, excurved, plumose from base to midbristle, 5–7.5 mm, antrorsely barbellate to tip.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle (or at least its base), antrorsely barbellate.

1–2 per spikelet, 2.3–2.6 × 1.1–1.2 mm;

body brown, short-stipitate, tumidly obovoid, subterete, 1.8–2 mm, margin low, broad;

surfaces interruptedly transversely wavy-rugulose;

tubercle broadly and concavely conic, 0.5–0.7 mm high, base shallowly 2-lobed, discoid, abruptly narrowed to blunt tip.

1–3 per spikelet, 2.3–3 mm;

body brown, strongly compressed proximally, biconvex distally, broadly obovoid, 1.8–2.2 × 1.5 mm;

surfaces strongly transversely rugose, intervals with rows of narrow, vertical alveolae;

tubercle triangular, flat, 1 mm, base lunate, capping fruit apex, apiculate.