Flora of North America species comparison

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

internodes glabrous or pubescent, sometimes nearly lanose.

65-150 cm, sometimes thickened at the base, erect, unbranched;

internodes glabrous;

nodes concealed.

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.

cauline;

sheaths longer than the internodes, usually lanose-floccose, occasionally glabrate;

ligules about 0.1 mm;

blades 10-25(30) cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat, light green or slightly blue-green, glabrous abaxially.

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, (25)35-70(82) cm long, (2)3-8(10) cm wide;

rachis nodes lanose-floccose;

primary branches 3-12 cm, appressed at the base, without axillary pulvini, ascending to spreading distally, sometimes loose and somewhat flexible, with 4-12 spikelets per branch.

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.

usually unequal, 1-veined, brownish-green to dark brown or purplish;

lower glumes 8.7-18 mm, with a keeled mid-vein;

upper glumes 8.4-15 mm, awn-tipped, awns to 3 mm;

calluses 0.5-1 mm;

lemmas 6.5-10 mm, smooth to scabridulous, mostly dark purplish-mottled, slightly narrowed distally but not beaked, junction with the awns not evident;

central awns 12-28 mm, curved at the base, often strongly so;

lateral awns 7-17 mm, at least Yi as long as the central awns;

anthers 3, about 3 mm, brown.

5-6 mm, chestnut brown.

= 22.

= unknown.