Flora of North America species comparison

30-120 cm, erect, unbranched.

15-40 cm, slender, usually erect, occasionally decumbent, often tightly clustered into hemispheric clumps, unbranched.

basal and cauline, pale green, sometimes glaucous;

sheaths longer or shorter than the internodes, glabrous except at the summit;

collars densely to sparsely pilose or glabrous;

ligules less than 0.5 mm;

blades 8-30 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, usually flat, often curled at maturity.

mostly basal;

sheaths longer than the internodes, glabrous except at the summit;

collars densely pilose;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 5-20 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat to loosely involute, glabrous.

paniculate, 10-30 cm long, (4)8-26 cm wide;

rachis nodes with straight hairs, hairs to 0.8 mm;

primary branches 6-16 cm, abruptly spreading to divaricate, stiff to lax, with axillary pulvini, usually not spikelet-bearing below midlength.

paniculate, 8-18 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, peduncles often flattened and easily broken;

rachis nodes glabrous or with straight, less than 0.3 mm hairs;

primary branches 2-6 cm, stiffly divaricate to reflexed, with axillary pulvini, usually naked on the lower 1/2 secondary branches usually absent.

appressed, rarely spreading.

usually divergent, pedicels usually with axillary pulvini.

1(3)-veined, brown or purple at maturity, acuminate;

lower glumes 6-13 mm;

upper glumes equaling or to 4 mm shorter than the lower glumes;

calluses 0.8-1.2 mm;

lemmas 10-15(17) mm, terminating in a strongly twisted, 2-4 mm awnlike beak, junction with the awns not conspicuous;

awns not disarticulating at maturity;

central awns 5-12 mm, markedly bent near the base;

lateral awns absent or to 1(3) mm, erect;

anthers 1.2-2.2 mm, brownish.

8-12 mm, 1-veined, acuminate or awned, awns to 4 mm;

calluses about 0.5 mm;

lemmas 8-13 mm long, glabrous, smooth or scabrous, terminal 2-3 mm straight or with 1-2 twists, narrowing to 0.1-0.2 mm wide, junction with the awns not evident;

awns (7)10-22 mm, not disarticulating at maturity, from almost straight to somewhat curved basally, ascending to divergent distally;

lateral awns slightly shorter and thinner than the central awns;

anthers 3, 0.8-1 mm.

6-8 mm.

8-10 mm, light brown.

= 22, 44.

= 22.