Flora of North America species comparison

arching or erect, leafy, nearly terete, multiribbed, slender.

spreading to erect, leafy, obtusely triangular.

often exceeding inflorescences;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 1–3 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering.

spikelet clusters 2–6, mostly widely spaced;

clusters dense, hemispheric to mostly spheroid, 0.5–1 cm thick.

terminal and axillary, clusters of 1–5 corymbs; leafy bracts much exceeding corymbs.

dark redbrown to dark brown, lanceovoid, (2–)2.5–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales elliptic, 2–3 mm, apex acute, midrib shortexcurrent or not.

few to several, on ascending, stiff, short-to-elongate branches, red-brown to brown, lanceoloid, (5–)6–10 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales many, ovate, shallowly convex, 5 mm, apex acuminate;

midrib short-excurrent or not.

perianth bristles 6, reaching tubercle tip, retrorsely barbellate.

perianth absent.

1 per spikelet, 2.5–3 mm;

body pale brown with light center, lenticular, obovoid distal to stipe, 1.1–1.5 × 0.9–1.1 mm, margins pale, wirelike, surfaces slick;

tubercle triangularsubulate, 0.9–1.2(–1.5) mm, at least 0.5 mm wide at base.

1.5 mm;

body dark brown to black, tumidly lenticular, nearly orbicular, 0.8–0.9 × 0.6–0.7 mm, margins grooved, discontinuous with tubercle;

surfaces transversely wavyrugose, ridges of contiguous rows of vertical, linear, raised cells;

tubercle broad, low triangular, 0.2–0.3 mm, crustaceous, base capping fruit summit, raised at ends, apex shortacuminate.

leaves overtopped by culm;

blades linear, proximally flattened, 1–3 mm wide, apex tapering, trigonous.