Flora of North America species comparison

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

internodes glabrous or pubescent, sometimes nearly lanose.

20-60 cm, wiry.

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 usually shorter than the internodes, mostly glabrous, sparsely hairy near the summit;

collars hispidulous, occasionally glabrous;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;

blades 3-22 cm long, to 2 mm wide, flat to involute, glabrous abaxially, sparsely pilose adaxially, without a prominent midrib but with a thickened vein near each margin, pale to gray-green, sometimes slightly glaucous.

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 or racemose, 5-12 cm long, 2-4 cm wide;

primary branches barely developed.

appressed.

appressed to slightly divergent from the axillary pulvini.

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.

subequal, apices bifid, awned from the sinuses;

lower glumes (9)11-16 mm, 3-7-veined, awns 0.5-2(4) mm;

upper glumes 11-18 mm, 1-3-veined, awns 3-7 mm;

calluses 0.4-1 mm;

lemmas (8)15-20(22) mm, dark, occasionally banded or spotted, apices narrowed but not beaklike;

central awns 12-25 mm, bases with a semicircular bend;

lateral awns 1-4 mm, erect, occasionally lacking;

anthers 3, about 3 mm, brown.

9-11 mm, dark brown to black.

= 22.

= unknown.