Flora of North America species comparison

10-40 cm, highly branched above the base in age;

internodes glabrous or pubescent, sometimes nearly lanose.

70-150 cm tall, 3-6 mm thick at the base, erect, rarely branched.

cauline;

sheaths shorter than the internodes, glabrous or puberulent;

collars glabrous or pubescent at the sides;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades usually less than 6 cm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, pale green, involute, glabrous or puberulent abaxially.

mostly cauline;

sheaths usually longer than the internodes, remaining intact at maturity, glabrous or appressed pilose;

collars glabrous or pilose at the sides;

ligules less than 0.5 mm;

blades (10)15-30 cm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, flat at the base, involute toward the apex, straight to somewhat lax at maturity, glabrous abaxially, yellowish-green when fresh, drying stramineous or darker.

paniculate or racemose, 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, with few spikelets;

rachis nodes glabrous or with straight hairs;

primary branches 1-2 cm, appressed, without axillary pulvini.

paniculate, (15)20-55 cm long, 2-4 cm wide;

nodes glabrous or with short, straight hairs;

primary branches (4)5-20 cm, appressed to narrowly ascending, without axillary pulvini, naked below, with 5-15 overlapping spikelets distally.

appressed.

unequal, 1-2-veined;

lower glumes 4-10 mm;

upper glumes 7-15 mm;

calluses about 1 mm;

lemmas 5-7 mm, purple or mottled, junction of the lemma and awns evident;

awns twisted together basally into a 4-26 mm column, free portions 12-50 mm, those of the central and lateral awns similar in length, curved to arcuate basally, straight and divergent distally, disarticulating at the base of the column at maturity;

anthers 3, about 2 mm long.

6-10(12) mm, 1-veined, 1-keeled, awns less than 4 mm, brownish;

lower glumes from 3/4 as long as to 1 mm longer than the upper glumes;

calluses 1-2 mm;

lemmas 5-8 mm, often reddish-mottled, apices not strongly twisted, junction with the awns not evident;

awns about equally thick, divergent, spirally contorted at the base but usually not with distinct coils, not disarticulating at maturity;

central awns 10-15 mm;

lateral awns 8-13 mm;

anthers 3, about 2 mm.

4-5 mm, chestnut-colored.

= 22.

= unknown.