Flora of North America species comparison

slender, ± filiform, leafy, terete to bluntly trigonous.

erect or ascending, leafy, trigonous.

shorter than culm;

blades spreading to ascending, ± filiform, proximally flat, 0.5–1(–1.5) mm, apex tapering, trigonous.

exceeded by culm;

blades linear, proximally 4–7 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering.

spikelet clusters 1–3, loose to dense, widely spaced to close together, turbinate to hemispheric; leafy bracts setaceous, mostly exceeding spikelet clusters.

terminal and axillary;

clusters 3–6, mostly dense, narrowly to broadly turbinate, branches ascending; leafy bracts exceeeding proximalmost inflorescences.

dark redbrown, lanceovoid, 2.5–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, 2–3.5 mm, apex acute or acuminate, rarely minutely awned.

rich brown, ovoid, (3–)4–5 mm, apex acuminate;

fertile scales ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acuminate, midrib included or shortexcurrent.

bristles 6, of various length, mostly extending from fruit midbody to tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles mostly 6, exceeding tubercle tip.

1–2 per spikelet, (2–)2–2.5 mm;

body brown with pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid, 1.5–1.7 × 1.2–1.3 mm, surfaces nearly smooth or very finely cancellate;

tubercle flat, triangular with short-oblong, blunttipped nose, or triangularsubulate, 0.5–0.8 mm.

mostly 3–4 per spikelet, 2–2.2 mm;

body brown on short pedicellar (to 0.3 mm) stalk, broadly obovoid, lenticular, 1.3–1.5 × 1–1.5 mm, surfaces transversely rugulose, vertically finely striate and rectangularalveolate;

tubercle compressed, triangular acuminate, 0.5–0.8 mm, edges setulose.