Flora of North America species comparison

ascending-excurved, leafy, ± terete, slender.

stiffly erect to ascending, linear, leafy toward base, sharply trigonous, angles scabrid.

ascending, overtopped by culm;

blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 2–3 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering.

shorter than culm;

basal leaves forming strong rosette, shortlinear, flat, 3–5 mm wide, distal more widely spaced, narrower, apex shortacuminate, trigonous.

spikelet clusters (1–)2–3, widely spaced, open to dense, broadly to narrowly turbinate, branches ascending to slightly spreading, capillary; leafy bracts setaceous-tipped, overtopping all but distal clusters.

spikelet clusters 1(–2), if 2 then closely set;

terminal cluster mostly dense, hemispheric;

proximalmost leafy bract subulate, much exceeding clusters.

light red-brown, ovoid, 3.5–5 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acute, midrib excurrent as cusp or mucro.

dark redbrown, ovoid, (4–)5–6 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, mostly 4–4.5 mm, apex excurvedcuspidate.

perianth bristles 6, reaching at most 2/3 length of fruit body, antrorsely barbellate.

bristles 12, reaching to or slightly beyond tubercle tip, antrorsely barbellate.

1–4(–5) per spikelet, 2 mm;

body brown, strongly compressed, obovoid-ellipsoid, 1.4–1.6 × 1–1.2 mm, margins flowing to tubercle;

surfaces finely transversely rugose, intervals with narrow vertical alveolae;

tubercle flat, low-triangular, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) mm.

1–2 per spikelet, 3–3.5(–3.7) mm;

body dark brown with paler center, dull, broadly ellipsoid-lenticular, 2–2.5 × 1.8–2 mm, smooth, margins flowing to tubercle;

tubercle flat, concavely triangular, 0.7–1(–1.2) mm.