Flora of North America species comparison

10–15 mm diam.

2–5 mm diam.

bluntly trigonous with nearly flat sides throughout to cylindric proximally, obscurely trigonous distally, 1–4 m × 4–10 mm, smooth.

sharply trigonous, sides deeply concave throughout to rarely nearly flat, 0.4–2.5 m × 3–10 mm.

3–4, basal, ca. 1/6 culm length;

sheath fronts coarsely pinnate-fibrillose;

blades 0–1, dorsiventrally flat, not more than 1/2 sheath length, distal blade to 20 × 2 mm.

ca. 3, basal, less than 1/2 culm length;

sheath fronts not pinnate-fibrillose;

blades 1–3, V-shaped near base, otherwise laterally flattened-trigonous in cross section;

distal blade 0.2–1.5 times as long as sheath, 25–200 × 2–8 mm.

3 or more times branched, branches to 21 cm;

proximal bract usually erect, obtusely trigonous to subcylindric-channeled, 1–8 cm, margins often scabridulous.

capitate or very rarely with 1 branch to 5 mm;

proximal bract usually erect, resembling leaf blade, 1–6 cm.

25–150+, solitary and in clusters of 2 or more, 5–11 × 3 mm;

scales orange-brown, brightly lineolate-spotted, broadly oval, 2.5 × 2 mm, margins ciliolate, flanks veinless, apex rounded, notch 0.1–0.2 mm deep, awn not contorted, usually bent outward, 0.3 mm, sparsely scabrous.

2–20, 5–15 × 3–5 mm;

scales bright orange- to red- or purple-brown to straw-colored, often partly translucent, usually clearly lineolate-spotted, broadly ovate, 2.7–4 × 2–3 mm, smooth or awn sparsely spinulose, margins deciduously ciliolate, flanks of proximal scale often with several ribs, apex rounded to acute, notch 0.1–0.4 mm deep, awn not contorted, 0.2–0.6 mm.

perianth members 2–4, dark red-brown, thickly strap-shaped or trigonous, equaling achenes, fringed with brownish, soft, blunt hairs;

anthers 1.5 mm;

styles 2-fid.

perianth members (2–)5–6(–7), yellow-brown, bristlelike, slender to stout, often unequal to equaling 1/2 achene body, retrorsely spinulose;

anthers 1.5–3 mm;

styles 2-fid or 2-fid and 3-fid.

dark gray-brown when ripe, unequally biconvex or plano-convex, ovoid to obovoid, 1.8–2.2 × 1.3 mm;

beak 0.2 mm.

brown when ripe, thickly plano-convex or unequally biconvex or compressed obtusely trigonous, obovoid, 1.8–2.8 × 1.3–2 mm;

beak 0.1–0.3 mm.

= 68.

= 78.