Flora of North America species comparison

lax, often excurved, slender, ± terete or trigonous.

lax, leafy, mostly excurved, slender.

ascending, exceeded by culm;

blades linear, proximally flat, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.

shorter than culm;

blades ascending, narrowly linear, proximally flat, 2–4(–5) mm wide, apex trigonous, short-subulate, tapering.

clusters 3–4, widely spaced, narrowly, compactly, or diffusely turbinate; leafy bracts exceeding proximal clusters.

spikelet clusters 3–7(–10), dense, all but most distal widely spaced, broadly turbinate to ovate or hemispheric.

deep redbrown, ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 2–3 mm, apex acute to acuminate;

fertile scales broadly elliptic to obovate or orbiculate, 1.4–2(–2.5) mm, apex rounded to notched, midrib shortexcurrent.

light red-brown, lanciform, 5 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales lanceolate, 4–4.5 mm, apex acuminate, midrib excurrent as awn.

perianth bristles 0–3, vestigial when present.

bristles 6, reaching past tubercle base, usually to or slightly past its tip, antrorsely barbellate.

2–4 per spikelet, 1.5 mm;

body pale brown to brown, strongly flattened, orbicular to broadly obovoid, 1–1.3 × 0.9–1.2 mm, surfaces sharply transversely wavyrugose, intervals finely vertically striate with rows of linearrectangular alveolae;

tubercle depressed, triangular, flattened, 0.2–0.3 mm, base lunate.

2(–4) per spikelet;

stipe and receptacle curled-setose, (0.5–)0.6–08(–1) mm;

body glossy, brown with pale center, narrowly obovoid-lenticular, 1.2–1.5 mm, surfaces minutely striate, sometimes transversely minutely rugulose with wavy rows of dark minute dots;

margins narrow, strong, flowing to tubercle;

tubercle narrowly triangular, slightly concave-sided, flattened, setulose-ciliate, 0.7–1.1 mm.