Flora of North America species comparison

lax, leafy, wandlike, ± terete to obscurely angled, slender.

erect to curved, leafy, obscurely trigonous to nearly terete, few ribbed, slender.

ascending, exceeded by culms;

blades flat, 4–7(–10) mm wide, apex trigonous, shortacuminate, tapering.

spikelet clusters 4–6 or more, equidistant along culm on ascending peduncles, branches capillary, divaricate, clusters loose, diffuse, rounded.

clusters 1 or 2–3, then widely spaced, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric, 1.5–2.5 cm wide; subtending leafy bracts often exceeded by distal cluster.

light brown, ellipsoid to lanceoloid or ovoid, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, (1.5–)2–3 mm, apex rounded or acute, midrib forming apiculus.

pale brown to nearly white, ellipsoid, 3.5–5.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales elliptic, 3–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute or acuminate, midrib excurrent as mucro.

perianth bristles 6, longest exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles 10–12, slightly overtopping tubercle, retrorsely barbellate or rarely smooth, base often setose.

2–several per spikelet, 1.3–1.5 mm;

body pale brown, broadly obovoid, tumidly biconvex, 1.1–1.2 × 1–1.1 mm;

surfaces transversely sharply wavyrugulose, intervals with vertical, rectangular, shallow alveolae;

tubercle depressedconic, slightly compressed, 0.2–0.3(–0.4) mm, edges setulose.

1(–2) per spikelet, (2.3–)2.5–3 mm;

body pale brown with paler center, stipitateobovoid, lenticular, 1.5–1.8(–2) × 0.9–1.2 mm;

surfaces transversely striate, relatively smooth, rim narrow, flowing to tubercle base;

tubercle narrowly triangularsubulate, 0.5–1.2 mm.

leaves mostly overtopped by culm;

blades narrowly linear to filiform, proximally flat, 0.5–1.5 mm, apex tapering, trigonous.