Flora of North America species comparison

40-100 cm tall, 1-4 mm thick at the base, erect, branching at the base, shoots becoming thickened and somewhat fan-shaped upwards.

(25) 40-100 cm, erect or decumbent to ascending near the base, highly branched above the base;

nodes and internodes glabrous.

cauline;

sheaths mostly longer than the internode, mostly or completely glabrous, sometimes pilose, particularly along the margins and at the throat, remaining intact at maturity;

collars glabrous or pilose;

ligules about 0.2 mm;

blades 10-25 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, usually flat, usually lax, sometimes sinuous to curling at maturity, glabrous, pale green, drying brownish.

cauline;

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

collars often with a line of tangled hairs;

ligules about 0.5 mm;

blades 8-25 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, light green, flat to loosely involute, glabrous and smooth abaxially, scabridulous adaxially.

paniculate, (15)20-55 cm long, 0.5-2(3) cm wide, often nodding;

nodes glabrous, sometimes scabrous, lower nodes usually associated with more than 2 spikelets;

primary branches 1-5 cm, tightly appressed to loosely ascending, without axillary pulvini, with 1-8 spikelets.

paniculate, 10-20 cm long, 3-10 cm wide;

rachis nodes glabrous, scabrous, or strigose;

primary branches 1-4 cm, stiffly ascending, with axillary pulvini, with 1-4 spikelets per branch.

appressed.

loosely congested.

5-10 mm, lower glumes from 3/4 as long as to 1-4 mm longer than the upper glumes, glabrous or sparsely appressed-pubescent, 1-2-veined, 1-keeled, tan to purplish, unawned or the awns no longer than 1 mm;

calluses 0.4-0.8 mm;

lemmas 4-8 mm, glabrous, mostly light tan or gray, often spotted or banded, beak not twisted, junction with the awns not evident;

awns 8-25 mm, equal or subequal in length, curved, arcuate, or spirally coiled at the base, not disarticulating at maturity;

central awns sometimes thicker than the lateral awns, erect to arcuate-reflexed;

lateral awns straight and erect, ascending, or divergent;

anthers 1 or 3, 1-1.5 mm, brown.

20-30 mm, yellowish-brown, 1-veined, apices narrowing to a 5-10 mm awn;

upper glumes slightly longer than the lower glumes;

calluses 3-4 mm;

lemmas 10-14 mm, dark and mottled at maturity, glabrous or occasionally sparsely pubescent, not beaked, junction of the lemma and awns evident;

awns twisted together basally into a 8-15 mm column, free portions 30-40 mm, those of the central and lateral awns similar in length, strongly curved to arcuate near the base, straight and strongly divergent to reflexed distally, disarticulating at the base of the column at maturity;

anthers 3, about 2.5 mm, brownish.

3-5 mm, chestnut brown.

8-10 mm, dark brown.

= unknown.

= unknown.