Flora of North America species comparison

40-90 cm tall, 1-2(3) mm thick, erect, glabrous;

nodes usually 3.

erect, with 2-3 nodes, not branching at the upper nodes;

basal branching intravaginal;

prophylls concealed by the leaf sheaths, winged over the keels, apices bifid, teeth 0.5-3.5 mm.

mostly basal;

sheaths open, smooth, glabrous;

cleistogenes often present, spikelets of cleistogenes 0.5-1 mm long, with thin glumes shorter than the florets, florets unawned or with reduced awns;

auricles absent;

ligules scarious, rounded to acute, ciliate;

blades stiff, involute, apices stiff, brown, sharply pointed, blades of the flag leaves 5-13 cm long, bases similar in width to the top of the sheaths.

10-25 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, bases sometimes included in the upper leaf sheaths;

branches ascending to spreading, longest lower branches 4-12 cm.

panicles, the main panicle terminal, apparently wholly chasmogamous.

with 1 floret;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath the floret.

subequal, 6-8 mm, linear-lanceolate, 1-3-veined, midveins smooth, scabridulous, or with stiff hairs, varying within a panicle, apices acuminate;

florets 4-5.5 mm long, about 0.8 mm thick, fusiform;

calluses 0.4-0.5 mm, blunt, strigose, hairs 0.5-0.8 mm;

lemmas pubescent over and between the veins on the proximal 1/2 at least initially, hairs 0.5-0.8 mm, sometimes glabrous at maturity between the midveins and lateral veins, distal portion glabrous, tapering to the apices, apices with 0.7-1 mm hairs around the base of the awn;

awns 10-18 mm, glabrous or scabrous, usually once-geniculate;

paleas 3/4 - 9/10 as long as the lemmas, pubescent over the central portion, apices involute;

lodicules 3;

anthers 2-2.4(3) mm, penicillate.

exceeding the floret, acute to acuminate, 1-5-veined;

florets fusiform, terete;

calluses antrorsely strigose, blunt;

lemmas pubescent, often more densely and/or more persistently so over the midvein and lateral veins, hairs on the proximal portion about 0.7-2 mm, hairs on the distal portion often longer;

crowns not developed;

awns once- or twice-geniculate, scabrous, persistent;

paleas 3/4 as long as to almost equaling the lemmas, flat, hairy, hairs 0.2-1 mm, veins terminating at or near the apices, apices similar in texture to the body;

lodicules 3;

anthers 3, anthers sometimes all of equal size and more than 2 mm, sometimes 1 longer than 2 mm and 2 much shorter, sometimes all shorter than 2 mm;

ovaries glabrous;

styles with 2 branches, united at the base, stigmas plumose.

2-3 mm long, 0.9-1 mm thick, fusiform;

style bases straight, centric.

obovoid, with 3 smooth, longitudinal ribs at maturity, stylar bases 1-2 mm, persistent, sometimes eccentric;

hila linear, about as long as the caryopses.

sheaths mostly glabrous, margins ciliate distally;

collars glabrous, often with tufts of hair to 1.5 mm on the sides;

ligules 0.2-0.6 mm, membranous, strigose, ciliate, cilia to 2 mm, slightly longer at the leaf margins;

blades 8-35 cm long, usually convolute and 0.5-0.8 mm in diameter, 2-3 mm wide when flat, erect, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces usually glabrous.

= unknown.

= unknown.