Flora of North America species comparison

erect to ascending, leafy, stiff.

lax, filiform, leafy.

shorter than scape;

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

spreading to ascending, exceeding or exceeded by culm;

blades 0.2–0.3 mm wide, margins strongly involute or channeled, apex trigonous, tapering, setaceous.

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

primary leafy bract linear, stiff, exceeding clusters.

cluster of cymes 1–2, widely spaced, turbinate, sparse;

branches few; foliaceous bracts setaceous, longer than cymes.

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.

brown, lanceovoid to fusiform, 2.5–3 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, 1.5 mm, apex acute, midrib shortexcurrent.

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

perianth absent.

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.

0.9–1 mm;

body lustrous pale brown, ellipsoidlenticular, 0.8–0.9 × 0.5–0.6 mm, margins narrow, wirelike;

surfaces minutely reticulate;

bristles 4–6, the longest from shorter than fruit midbody to fully as long, rarely reaching tubercle tip, minutely antrorsely barbellate;

tubercle shortconic, to 0.15 mm.