Flora of North America species comparison

20-120 cm, erect, sometimes geniculate at the base, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes, with 4-7 nodes.

5-45 cm, erect, sometimes geniculate at the base, with (3)4-9 nodes.

mostly cauline, sheaths smooth or sparsely scabridulous;

ligules longer than wide, dorsal surfaces usually scabrous, sometimes smooth, apices rounded to truncate, erose to lacerate, basal ligules 1-4.5 mm, upper ligules 2-7 mm;

blades 4-10 cm long, 3-8 mm wide, flat.

mostly basal or cauline;

basal leaves withered at anthesis;

sheaths smooth or scabridulous;

ligules (0.7) 1.5-3.5 mm, dorsal surfaces scabrous, apices acute, rounded, or truncate, lacerate;

blades 0.5-4 cm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, flat, becoming involute.

8-25(30) cm long, less than 1/2 the length of the culm, (1.5)3-15 cm wide, erect, open, broadly ovate, exserted from the upper sheaths at maturity, lowest node with (1)3-8 branches;

branches scabrous, spreading during and after anthesis, usually some branches spikelet-bearing to the base, lower branches 4-9 cm, usually with many shorter secondary branches resulting in crowding of the spikelets, spikelets restricted to the distal 1/2 of the branches and not crowded in shade plants;

pedicels 0.3-3.4(4.2) mm.

3-20 cm long, (0.5)2-12 cm wide, widely ovate, ultimately open and diffuse, the whole panicle detaching after maturity, blowing about as a tumbleweed, bases usually exserted, sometimes enclosed by the upper sheaths at maturity, lowest node with 1-6 branches;

branches scabridulous, capillary, branching beyond midlength, initially ascending, becoming laxly spreading, spikelets clustered near the tips, lower branches 2-8 cm;

pedicels 0.3-7.5 mm;

secondary panicles sometimes present in the leaf axils.

narrowly ovate to lanceolate, green and slightly to strongly suffused with purple.

narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, yellowish purple to greenish purple.

subequal, 1.7-3.2 mm, lanceolate, 1-veined, acute to apiculate;

lower glumes scabrous on the distal 1/2 of the midvein;

upper glumes scabridulous on the distal 1/2 of the midvein;

callus hairs to 0.5 mm, sparse;

lemmas 1.5-2.2 mm, opaque to translucent, smooth, 3-5-veined, veins usually obscure, sometimes prominent throughout or distally, often excurrent to 0.2 mm, apices usually acute, sometimes obtuse or truncate, usually unawned, rarely with a 0.4-1.5(3) mm straight awn arising from near the apices to near the base;

paleas 0.7-1.4 mm, about Vi the length of the lemmas, veins visible;

anthers 3, 1-1.4 mm.

equal, 1.5-2.2 mm, 1-veined, scabrous on the midvein, margins scabrous distally, acute;

callus hairs to 0.6 mm, dense;

lemmas 1-2 mm, smooth or scabrous to warty, translucent, 5-veined, veins prominent, apices acute, entire or 2-5-toothed, teeth minute, to 0.8 mm, usually awned from just below the apices, sometimes unawned, awns 3-10 mm, flexuous, not geniculate, deciduous;

paleas absent or minute;

anthers 1, 0.1-0.2 mm, lobes widely separated by the connective, usually retained at the apices of the caryopses.

1-1.5 mm;

endosperm solid.

1-1.4 mm;

endosperm liquid.

= 42.

= 28.