Flora of North America species comparison

10–15 mm diam.

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

sharply trigonous, 0.4–1 m × 2–3 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.

1–2;

sheath fronts not pinnate-fibrillose;

ligules absent;

blades absent.

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;

proximal bract divergent to reflexed or rarely erect, trigonous, adaxially channeled, 1–10 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.

4–20, 7–12 × 4 mm;

scales orange-brown to straw-colored, central region often greenish, broadly obovate, 3–3.5 × 2–2.5 mm, margins ciliolate, apex obtuse to broadly acute, entire, mucronate.

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 6, brown, bristlelike, equaling achene, stout, retrorsely spinulose;

anthers 0.8 mm;

styles 3-fid (or some 2-fid in same spikelet).

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

beak 0.2 mm.

dark to blackish brown, thickly plano-convex to obtusely trigonous, broadly obovoid, 1.7–2.2(–2.5) × 1.2–1.7 mm;

beak 0.2 mm.

= 68.