Flora of North America species comparison

erect or excurved, linear, leafy, trigonous, slender.

exceeded by culm;

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

slightly to much exceeded by culm;

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

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.

terminal;

spikelet single, terminal cluster of spikelets crowded, hemispheric, 2.5 cm wide; leafy bracts linearsetaceous, much exceeding cluster.

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

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

whitish to tan, narrowly lanceoloid, (3.5–)4–5.5 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales lanceolate, 3.5–4(–4.5) mm, apex narrowly acute, minutely awned or apiculate.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

bristles vestigial or obsolete.

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.

1 per spikelet, (1.9–)2–2.3 mm;

body brown with pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid, 1.5–2 × 1.5 mm, margins flowing to tubercle;

surfaces longitudinally finely striate;

tubercle depressedtriangular, 0.2–0.3(–0.4) mm.