Flora of North America species comparison

5-110 cm, clumped or solitary, erect or decumbent, occasionally cormlike at the base;

nodes glabrous.

5-50 cm, erect or decumbent.

inserted mostly on the lower 1/2 of the culms;

sheaths open, upper sheaths sometimes inflated;

auricles absent;

ligules 0.6-6.5 mm, truncate to acute, membranous, puberulent or glabrous, entire to lacerate;

blades 0.7-12 mm wide, flat or involute, glabrous or scabrous, blades of uppermost leaves sometimes short or absent.

1-7 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, always dense.

terminal panicles, spikelike, capitate to cylindrical;

branches usually shorter than 5 mm, lower branches sometimes to 2 cm;

disarticulation below the glumes.

1.8-7 mm, pedicellate, strongly laterally compressed, oval in outline, with 1 floret;

rachillas not prolonged beyond the base of the floret.

equaling or exceeding the florets, membranous or coriaceous, free or connate in at least the lower 1/2, narrowing from above midlength, 3-veined, keeled, keels ciliate, at least basally, apices obtuse to acute or shortly awned;

calluses blunt, glabrous;

lemmas membranous, margins often connate in the lower 1/2, keeled, indistinctly 3-5-veined, apices truncate to acute, awned dorsally from just above the base to about midlength, geniculate or straight;

paleas absent or greatly reduced;

lodicules absent;

anthers 3, 0.3-4.1 mm;

ovaries glabrous;

styles fused, with 2 branches.

2.1-3.1 mm, connate at the base, membranous throughout, sparsely pubescent, not dilated below, keels not winged, ciliate, apices obtuse, pale green to pale yellow;

lemmas 1.9-2.7 mm, connate in the lower 1/2, glabrous, apices obtuse, awns 3-6.5 mm, geniculate, exceeding the lemmas by 1.6-4 mm;

anthers 0.3-1 mm, yellow or orange.

shorter than the lemmas, concealed at maturity, glabrous;

hila short, x = 7.

1-1.5 mm.

2.8-4.5 mm, obtuse;

blades 3-15 cm long, 0.9-3 mm wide;

upper sheaths not or only slightly inflated.

= 14.