Flora of North America species comparison

6-30 cm, decumbent to erect.

(3.3)5.5-60 cm, erect, glabrous, with (2)3-4 nodes.

forming a dense, bristly basal tuft;

ligules 0.7-2.3 mm, dorsal surfaces scabridulous, apices truncate to obtuse, often erose, sometimes lacerate or ciliolate;

blades 2-5 cm long, less than 1 mm wide, soon becoming tightly inrolled and rigid.

mostly basal or evenly distributed;

sheaths glabrous, scabridulous;

ligules 2-6.2 mm, membranous, scabridulous dorsally, apices acute to more or less truncate, erose to lacerate;

blades 4-19 cm long, 0.5-4 mm wide, involute or flat, scabrous or smooth over the veins.

2-8 cm long, 0.2-0.6 cm wide, narrowly cylindric, spikelike, dense, occasionally interrupted near the base, the base often enclosed by the upper sheaths;

branches to 2 cm, scabrous, strongly appressed, hidden by the spikelets;

pedicels 0.5-7 mm.

1.5-14 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, lanceoloid, somewhat spikelike, dense to somewhat open, exserted at anthesis;

branches appressed, shorter than 2 cm;

pedicels 0.7-3(4.5) mm, scabrous.

lanceolate to narrowly ovate, greenish to purplish.

purple to green, shiny.

1.8-4 mm, often 3-veined, midveins scabrous to smooth, acute to acuminate;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 1.5-2.5 mm, 5-veined, veins obscure or prominent distally, extending as teeth to 0.2 mm, unawned or awned from above midlength, awns to 1.2 mm, usually scarcely exceeding the lemma apices, straight;

paleas to 0.3 mm, thin;

anthers 3, 0.7-2 mm.

subequal, 2-3.5 mm, 1-veined, keeled, keels and back usually smooth, occasionally scabrous, apices acute, muticous;

lower glumes wider than the upper glumes;

calluses with 2 tufts of hair to 0.3 mm;

lemmas 1.4-1.9 mm, glabrous, 5-veined, veins evident, apices truncate to acute, microdenticulate, teeth to about 0.1 mm, dorsally awned from midlength or below, awns 2-3.5 mm, exserted, twisted, geniculate, scabridulous;

paleas 0.1-0.2 mm, hyaline, linear;

anthers 3, 0.5-1 mm.

1-1.5 mm;

endosperm liquid.

0.7-1.2 mm;

endosperm soft.

= 42.

= 28.