Flora of North America species comparison

10-75 cm, erect or geniculate, with 2-5 nodes.

20-80 cm, erect, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes, with 3-10 nodes.

basal and cauline;

sheaths smooth;

ligules 0.3-2 mm, shorter than wide, dorsal surfaces usually scabridulous, sometimes smooth, apices truncate to rounded, erose-ciliolate, sometimes lacerate;

blades 3-10 cm long, 1-5 mm wide, flat.

usually mostly cauline, basal leaves withering at anthesis;

sheaths usually smooth, sometimes scabridulous, ligules (0.7)1.5-7.3 mm, dorsal surfaces scabrous, apices acute to truncate, erose to lacerate, often ciliolate;

blades 6-20 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat, lax to stiff, cauline blades as substantial as the basal blades.

3-20 cm long, less than 1/2 the length of the culm, (1)2-12 cm wide, stiffly erect, widely ovate, open, exserted from the upper sheaths at maturity, lowest node with (2)3-9(13) branches;

branches smooth or scabridulous, spreading during and after anthesis, spikelets usually confined to the distal 1/2, lower branches 1.5-7 cm;

pedicels 0.4-3.3 mm, adjacent pedicels divergent.

10-25 cm long, 2.5-11 cm wide, broadly ovate, open, bases usually exserted, sometimes enclosed in the upper sheaths at maturity, lowest node with (1)3-11(13) branches;

branches scabridulous, capillary, wide-spreading, branching above midlength, spikelets somewhat aggregated towards the ends of the branches, lower branches 3-7 cm;

pedicels 1-7.3 mm, spreading;

secondary panicles sometimes present in the leaf axils.

lanceolate or oblong, purplish brown to greenish.

lanceolate to narrowly ovate, green to tawny.

subequal, 1.7-3 mm, 1-veined, acute;

lower glumes scabridulous over the midvein towards the apices;

upper glumes scabridulous or smooth over the midvein;

calluses glabrous, or with a few hairs to 0.1 mm;

lemmas 1.2-2.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, opaque to translucent, 3(5)-veined, veins typically prominent, apices obtuse to acute, usually entire, sometimes the veins excurrent to 0.5 mm, usually unawned, rarely awned, sometimes varying within a panicle, awns to 2 mm, mid-dorsal, straight or geniculate;

paleas 0.6-1.2(1.4) mm, typically at least 1/2 the length of the lemmas, veins visible;

anthers 3, 0.8-1.3 mm.

unequal, 1.8-3.2 mm, lower glumes longer than the upper glumes.

0.8-1.5 mm;

endosperm solid.

1.1-1.9 mm;

endosperm liquid.

-veined, veins scabrous, acuminate to acute;

callus hairs to 0.3 mm, abundant;

lemmas 1.3-2.2 mm, smooth or scabridulous, translucent, 5-veined, veins prominent to obscure, apices acute to more or less truncate, entire or minutely denticulate, usually unawned, rarely awned from near midlength, awns to 2 mm, straight, not exserted;

paleas absent, or to 0.1 mm and thin;

anthers 3, 0.4-0.9 mm.

= 28.

= 42.