Flora of North America species comparison

erect to excurved, lax, filiform, leafy, ± terete.

exceeded by culm;

blades lax, linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex abruptly narrowed, trigonous, subulate.

exceeded by culm, ascending;

blades filiform, ± terete, margins strongly involute, apex trigonous, sulcate, tapering.

spikelet clusters 4–6, mostly widely spaced;

peduncles erect or ascending, slender;

branches capillary, divaricate, or widely spreading, to small clusters of 1–few spikelets; leafy bracts mostly exceeding clusters.

spikelet clusters mostly 2–3, sparse to dense, oblong to broadly or narrowly turbinate; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding clusters.

lanceovoid, 3–4(–6) mm, apex acute to acuminate;

fertile scales elliptic, 2.5 mm, apex acute, midrib forming mucro or awn.

pale redbrown, lanceoloid, 3–3.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales mostly elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, apex acute, sometimes apiculate.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

bristles mere nubs or 1–2, to 0.3 mm.

mostly 2–4(–several) per spikelet, (1.5–)1.8–2(–2.1);

body greenish or pale brown, broadly ellipsoid to narrowly obovoid, lenticular, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm;

surfaces transversely finely wavy-rugulose, intervals vertically striatealveolate, or alveolae isodiametric;

tubercle flat, triangular-subulate, 0.5–0.6(–0.8) mm.

mostly 2 per spikelet, 1.5–1.6 mm;

body redbrown with pale center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to orbicular, margins pale, narrow, flowing to tubercle;

surfaces smoothish, or faintly cancellate;

tubercle flattened, triangularsubulate, 0.3–0.5 mm.