Flora of North America species comparison

erect or excurved, filiform to linear.

stiffly erect, leafy, triangular, multiribbed.

erect or excurved, shorter than scape;

blades filiform to linear, to 1.5 mm wide, margins involute, apex trigonous, tapering.

ascending, overtopped by inflorescence;

blades flat proximally, 3–10(–15) mm wide, apex attenuate, trigonous.

spikelet clusters 1–several, dense or sparse, when several, either widely spaced or close together, if widely spaced then ovoid to hemispheric, if close together then lobed ellipse or cylinder; leafy bracts filiform, setaceous, overtopping each cluster.

terminal and axillary, narrow, clusters of corymbs, clusters dense, mostly broadly turbinate, 13–15 mm;

bracteal leaves mostly exceeding subtended compounds.

light redbrown to deep brown, broadly fusiform to ovoid, (2.5–)3.5–4 mm, apex acute to acuminate;

fertile scale broadly ovate, strongly convex, (1.5–)2–3 mm, apex acuminate to mucronate, midrib excurrent or not.

brown, lanceoloid, 13–15 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales lanceolate, 10–13 mm, apex acuminate, midrib shortexcurrent.

perianth bristles 6, plumose, reaching at least to fruit midbody, often to tubercle tip.

longer perianth bristles usually fully 2 times length of fruit body, antrorsely barbellate.

1(–2) per spikelet, (1.5–)2–2.5 mm;

body redbrown or brown, tumidly obovoid or ellipsoid, sometimes obscurely lenticular, (1.2–)1.3–1.8(–2) × 1–1.5 mm;

surfaces interruptedly crossrugulose;

tubercle narrowly to broadly conic, mostly 0.3–0.5 mm, base flaring, round or indistinctly 2lobed.

1–2 per spikelet, 20–25 mm;

body pyriformobovoid, compressed, 5–6 × 2.6–3.6 mm;

tubercle attenuate, 2-grooved, (15–)18–20(–21) mm.

= 18.