Flora of North America species comparison

erect to ascending, narrowly linear, wandlike, terete, leafy proximal to middle.

erect or curved, leafy, filiform, angularly fewribbed.

erect to ascending;

blades proximally flat, 2.5–3.5 mm wide, apex tapering, tip abruptly blunt.

ascending-excurved, overtopped by culm;

blades filiform, involute, apex setaceous.

terminal, cluster of spikelets crowded, broadly turbinate to hemispheric, to 1.5 cm wide; leafy bracts linearsetaceous, slightly exceeding cluster.

spikelet clusters 1–2(–3), often sparse, ellipsoid or narrowly turbinate, less than 1 cm wide; subtending foliaceous bracts exceeding compounds.

orangebrown, lancefusiform, 6–7 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales lanceovate, 4–5 mm, apex acuminate with excurved awn to 1 mm.

erect or ascending, pale redbrown to brown, fusiform, 6–7 mm;

fertile scales elliptic, 4 mm, apex rounded or acute, midrib shortexcurrent or not.

bristles 3–4, some reaching tubercle tip, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle base, mostly retrorsely barbellate, sometimes smooth [forma laeviseta (E.

1–2 per spikelet, 2–2.1 mm;

body brown with paler center, obovoidlenticular, 1.5–1.7 × 1.2–1.3 mm, margins flowing to tubercle;

surfaces finely transversely striate with minute pits;

tubercle lowtriangular, 0.3–0.5 mm.

1–4(–5) per spikelet, 2.5–3 mm;

body pale brown, slender stipitate, ellipsoid, lenticular, 1.5–2 × 0.8–1 mm;

surfaces longitudinally minutely striate, obscurely transversely lowrugose, dotted;

tubercle narrowly triangularsubulate, flattened, 0.8–1.7 mm.

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) Fernald].