Flora of North America species comparison

10–15 mm diam.

5–15 mm diam.

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

cylindric, 1–4 m × 2–10 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.

3–4, all basal;

sheaths often dark reddish proximally, front membranous-translucent and splitting, orifice adaxially deeply V-shaped;

blades 1–2, C-shaped to dorsiventrally flat in cross section, usually much shorter than sheath, distal blade 8–120 × 3–7 mm, margins often scabridulous.

3 or more times branched, branches to 21 cm;

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

2(–3) times branched, open or compact, branches 6(–18) cm;

proximal bract usually erect, thickly C-shaped in cross section, 1–9 cm, margins sometimes scabridulous.

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.

3–190, solitary or in clusters of 2–8, never all solitary;

scales reddish to orange-brown to straw-colored, often variable on same scale, usually wholly or partly straw-colored and prominently lineolate-spotted at 10X, scale or midrib often green when young, ovate, 3–4 × 2–3 mm, sparsely to often densely reddish or straw-colored spinulose-papillose distally or on most of surface, margins ciliate, hairs long, contorted, flanks veinless, apex acute to obtuse, notch 0.3–0.5 mm deep, awn on at least some scales in spikelet usually strongly contorted, 0.5–2 mm (often broken off).

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 (4–)6(–8), brown, bristlelike, equaling achene body or sometimes much shorter, rarely rudimentary, spinulose;

anthers 2 mm;

styles 2(–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.

dark gray-brown, plano-convex or rarely weakly trigonous, obovoid, (1.5–)2–3  1.2–1.7 mm;

beak 0.2–0.4 mm.

= 68.