Flora of North America species comparison

erect to ascending, leafy, stiff.

erect or excurved, mostly filiform, leafy proximal to midculm, obtuse-angled to subterete, wiry.

shorter than scape;

blades narrowly linear, (1–)2–3 mm wide, margins involute, apex trigonous, tapering.

overtopped by culm;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 1–2 mm wide, distally tapering-triquetrous.

clusters 1–2, if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric or lobedglobose;

primary leafy bract linear, stiff, exceeding clusters.

spikelet clusters 2–3(–4), distant, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric, mostly shorter than subtending setaceous bract.

light to dark redbrown, lanceovoid, 3.5–6 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, convex, 3–3.5(–4) mm, apex acuminate, low midrib excurrent or not.

red-brown, lanceoloid, 2.5–3(–4) mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scale elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, acute, midrib excurrent as cusp or aristula.

perianth bristles 6, reaching at least to tubercle base, plumose from base to more than 1/2 length of fruit body.

bristles 6, reaching tubercle tip or beyond, antrorsely barbellate, base setose.

1(–2) per spikelet, (2–)2.5–2.8(–3) mm;

body redbrown or brown, tumidly obovoid, (1.5–)2–2.2 × 1–1.7 mm;

surfaces interruptedly transversely rugulose;

tubercle broadly conic, 0.5–0.8(–1) mm, base broadly 2lobed, apex often apiculate.

2–4 per spikelet, 1.5–1.7 mm, on setose pedicellar joint 0.2 mm, body with faces red-brown with pale glassy center, decurrent tubercle base;

surfaces smooth;

turbercle concavely triangular, 0.4–0.6 mm, setulose-ciliate.