Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect to arching or spreading, leafy, ± filiform, ± terete, stiff to rather lax.

ascending, exceeded by culms;

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

exceeded by culm;

blades linearfiliform, proximally shallowly concave, 1 mm, apex tapering, trigonous, blunt or broadly acute.

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

spikelet clusters 1–2, mostly compact, turbinate to hemispheric; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding spikelet clusters.

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.

dark redbrown, ovoid, 2–3 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales obovate, 1.5–1.7(–2) mm, apex broadly rounded or retuse, midrib excurrent as cusp or mucro to 0.5 mm.

perianth bristles 6, longest exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

bristles 6 or vestigial, rarely reaching fruit midbody, antrorsely barbellate.

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,1.7–2 mm;

body brown with large pale center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to ± orbicular, 1.2–1.5 × 1.4–1.6 mm;

tubercle flat, triangular, concave-sided, 0.4–0.6 mm, sometimes apiculate.