Flora of North America species comparison

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

erect, trigonous, multiribbed, rather stiff.

ascending, exceeded by culm;

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

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

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

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.

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 0–3, vestigial when present.

perianth bristles (15–)18–20, reaching tubercle tip, retrorsely 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.

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.