Flora of North America species comparison

erect or arching, leafy toward base, filiform, terete, wiry.

lax, leafy toward base, filiform, ± terete.

overtopped by culm;

blades linear to filiform, channeled, 0.3–0.5 mm wide, margins deeply involute, apex setaceous.

ascending, exceeded by culm;

blades filiform, to 0.5 mm, margins mostly involute, apex trigonous, tapering.

spikelet clusters 1–2(–3), dense to open, narrowly to broadly turbinate;

branches capillary, variously elongate; leafy bracts setaceous, equaling or exceeding clusters.

mostly lax cymes or clusters of cymes, 1–2, sparse, turbinate, branches capillary; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding proximal cymes, shorter than, equaling or slightly exceeding distal cymes.

variously brown, ellipsoid, 2–3 mm, apex sharply acute;

fertile scales ovate to nearly orbiculate, rounded, 1.2–1.8 mm, apiculate, convexcupulate, midrib slender, mostly included.

redbrown, fusiformlanceoloid, 5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales lanceolate, 3.5–4.5 mm, apex acute or acuminate, midrib included or shortexcurrent.

perianth absent.

perianth bristles 6, exceeding tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate, basally setose.

2–3 per spikelet, 0.7–0.9(–1) mm;

body pale, obovoid-lenticular, (0.5–)0.6–0.9 × 0.4–0.5 mm, margin wirelike;

surfaces transversely rugulose;

tubercle buttonlike, depressed triangular, 0.05–0.1 mm, base lunate atop rounded fruit body.

1 per spikelet, 2.8–3 mm;

body pale brown, obovoidpyriform, tumidly lenticular, 1.5–1 × 1 mm;

surfaces transversely wavyrugose, intervals vertically striate with narrow, raised alveolae;

tubercle flat, narrowly triangular-subulate, (0.8–)1–1.5 mm.