Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect, trigonous, multiribbed, rather stiff.

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.

spikelet clusters 1–3, turbinate to hemispheric, 1.5–3 cm wide; subtending leafy bracts mostly exceeded by distal compound.

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, fusiform, 4–5(–7) mm, apex narrowly acute;

fertile scales elliptic, 3.5–4 mm, apex narrowly acute, midrib excurrent as mucro.

perianth bristles 6, longest exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles (15–)18–20, reaching tubercle tip, retrorsely 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 per spikelet, 2.5–3.2 mm;

body brown with pale center, obovoid distal to short stipe, lenticular, 1.7–2.2 × 0.8–1.5, margins narrow, wirelike, flowing into tubercle edges;

tubercle flat, narrowly triangular-subulate, 0.8–1 mm.

leaves overtopped by culm;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, (1.5–)2–3.5 mm wide, apex tapering, trigonous.