Flora of North America species comparison

90-150 cm, often thickened basally, stiffly erect, usually unbranched;

internodes hollow.

15-60 cm, erect or geniculate at the base, branching at most of the nodes.

cauline;

sheaths usually shorter than the internodes, glabrous, remaining intact at maturity;

collars glabrous;

ligules to 0.1 mm;

blades (8)10-30(35) cm long, 2-4 mm wide, usually flat, occasionally loosely involute, lax, glabrous, light yellow-green to bluish-green when young, drying brownish.

cauline;

sheaths usually shorter than the internodes, glabrous or sparsely pilose;

collars glabrous;

ligules less than 0.5 mm;

blades 3-10 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat to folded basally, involute distally, scabridulous on both surfaces, occasionally sparsely pilose adaxially, light green.

paniculate, 25-45(55) cm long, 3-6 cm wide;

nodes glabrous;

primary branches 2-8 cm, usually single or paired, appressed to erect, occasionally ascending, without axillary pulvini, with (1)2-12 spikelets.

paniculate or racemose, 2-11 cm long, to 1 cm wide;

nodes glabrous or strigillose;

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

overlapping, appressed.

partly overlapping, often in pairs, 1 spikelet subsessile, the other pedicellate.

(7.5)9-13.5 mm, subequal, stiff, glabrous or scabridulous, light brown or greenish-brown;

lower glumes prominently 2-veined, 2-keeled by the development of 1 lateral vein, shortly (1-2 mm) awn-tipped;

upper glumes 1-veined, shortly (0.5-1 mm) awn-tipped;

calluses 1-1.4 mm;

lemmas 6-9 mm, glabrous, 0.3-0.5 mm wide distally, light tan to brown, junction with the awns not evident;

awns not disarticulating at maturity;

central awns 15-40 mm, usually strongly curved basally, strongly divergent to horizontal distally;

lateral awns 8-35 mm, at least 1/2 as long as the central awns, erect to strongly divergent;

anthers 3, about 3 mm, purplish.

1-veined, light gray to dark purplish or brownish;

lower glumes 3-8(10) mm, from 1/2 as long as the upper glumes to nearly equaling them;

upper glumes 4-13 mm;

calluses 0.3-0.5 mm;

lemmas 3-11 mm, light gray to purplish, frequently mottled, midveins scabrous, elsewhere glabrous, scabridulous, or sparsely appressed-puberulent, junction with the awns not evident;

central awns 3-8 mm, coiled at the base, spreading distally;

lateral awns 1-4 mm, straight, erect;

anthers 3 and 2-3 mm, or 1 and about 0.25 mm.

4.4-5 mm, chestnut brown.

light brown.

= unknown.

= unknown.