Flora of North America species comparison

erect, leafybased, wandlike, nearly terete, multiribbed.

ascending-excurved, leafy, ± terete, slender.

ascending or erect, longest nearly equaling culm;

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

ascending, overtopped by culm;

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

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

involucral bracts leafy, proximalmost overtopping inflorescence.

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.

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

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

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.

perianth bristles 6, exceeding fruit body, antrorsely barbellate.

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

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.

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.