Flora of North America species comparison

erect, leafybased, wandlike, nearly terete, multiribbed.

lax, erect to excurved, leafy toward base, filiform.

ascending or erect, longest nearly equaling culm;

principal blades linear, involutecylindric, to 3 mm wide, apex tapering, subulate.

overtopped by scape;

blades filiform, distally flattened, channeled, tapering, to 1 mm wide, margins strongly involute, apex blunt.

terminal, heads 1–4, dense, macelike, 1–1.5 mm thick;

involucral bracts leafy, proximalmost overtopping inflorescence.

spikelet clusters 1–3, laterals widely spaced, all narrowly turbinate, ellipsoid, or ovoid; leafy bracts setaceous, overtopping proximal clusters, often overtopped by terminal ones.

greenish, lanceovoid, 5–6 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales boat-shaped, 5 mm, apex acute to shortacuminate, midrib slightly excurrent or not.

erect or ascending, redbrown, lanciform, mostly 4.5–5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales lanceolate, (3–)4–4.5 mm, apex acute, apiculate.

perianth bristles 6, exceeding fruit body, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth absent.

1 per spikelet, 6–8(–8.7) mm;

body pale greenbrown, laterally compressed, obcordiform, 2.5–3(–4) mm, margins thick, rounded, not crimped, apex barely exserted, setulose, surfaces nearly plane, minutely cancellate (latticed);

tubercle (style base) linear, angled, 4–6 mm, much narrower than fruit summit, setulose.

2–3(–5) per spikelet;

stipe and receptacle 0.1–0.2(–0.3) mm, setose;

body brown with pale glassy center, narrowly obovoidellipsoid, lenticular, 1.2–1.5 mm, margins narrow, flowing to tubercle;

surfaces very finely lined longitudinally, transversely with wavy lines of tiny pits;

tubercle narrowly triangular or slightly concavesided, flattened, 0.7–1.2(–1.5) mm.