Flora of North America species comparison

(3)10-50(80) cm, often highly branched above the base.

15-40 cm, slender, usually erect, occasionally decumbent, often tightly clustered into hemispheric clumps, unbranched.

cauline, glabrous;

sheaths shorter than the internodes, not disintegrating into threadlike fibers;

ligules 0.4-1 mm;

blades 2-14 cm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, flat to involute.

mostly basal;

sheaths longer than the internodes, glabrous except at the summit;

collars densely pilose;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 5-20 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat to loosely involute, glabrous.

panicles, 5-15(20) cm long, 0.5-3 cm wide, often interrupted below;

nodes glabrous or with straight, less than 0.5 mm hairs;

primary branches 1-4 cm, erect to ascending, without axillary pulvini, with 3-8 spikelets.

paniculate, 8-18 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, peduncles often flattened and easily broken;

rachis nodes glabrous or with straight, less than 0.3 mm hairs;

primary branches 2-6 cm, stiffly divaricate to reflexed, with axillary pulvini, usually naked on the lower 1/2 secondary branches usually absent.

crowded.

usually divergent, pedicels usually with axillary pulvini.

unequal, 1-veined, acuminate;

lower glumes 4-8 mm;

upper glumes 6-11 mm;

calluses 0.5-0.8 mm;

lemmas 6-9 mm, slightly keeled, midveins scabrous, junction with the awns not evident;

awns not disarticulating at maturity, flattened and straight to somewhat curved at the base, central rib flanked by equally wide pale wings;

central awns 7-15(20) mm;

lateral awns somewhat shorter, occasionally only 1-2 mm;

anthers 3, 0.3-0.7 mm.

8-12 mm, 1-veined, acuminate or awned, awns to 4 mm;

calluses about 0.5 mm;

lemmas 8-13 mm long, glabrous, smooth or scabrous, terminal 2-3 mm straight or with 1-2 twists, narrowing to 0.1-0.2 mm wide, junction with the awns not evident;

awns (7)10-22 mm, not disarticulating at maturity, from almost straight to somewhat curved basally, ascending to divergent distally;

lateral awns slightly shorter and thinner than the central awns;

anthers 3, 0.8-1 mm.

8-10 mm, light brown.

= 22.

= 22.