Flora of North America species comparison

8-160 cm, prostrate to erect when young, becoming erect at maturity.

8-200 cm, erect or decumbent.

of the basal leaves with scattered hairs, upper sheaths glabrous;

ligules 4-6 mm, acute;

blades 10-45 cm long, 3-15 mm wide, scabridulous.

open;

auricles absent;

ligules membranous;

blades usually flat, sometimes involute, lax.

7-40 cm long, 5-20 cm wide, nodding.

panicles, diffuse, sometimes 1-sided, some branches longer than 1 cm.

18-32 mm, with 2(3) florets;

disarticulation beneath each floret;

disarticulation scars of all florets round to ovate or triangular.

15-50 min, pedicellate, laterally compressed, with 1-6(8) florets;

rachillas not prolonged beyond the base of the distal floret;

disarticulation above the glumes, usually also beneath the florets, cultivated forms not disarticulating.

subequal, 18-32 mm, 9-11-veined;

calluses bearded, hairs to 1/4 the length of the lemmas;

lemmas 14-22 mm, usually densely strigose below midlength, sometimes sparsely strigose or glabrous, veins not extending beyond the apices, apices usually bifid, teeth 0.3-1.5 mm, awns 23-42 mm, arising in the middle 1/3 of the lemmas;

lodicules without lobes on the wings;

anthers about 3 mm.

usually exceeding the florets, membranous, glabrous, 3-11-veined, acute, unawned;

calluses rounded to pointed, with or without hairs;

lemmas usually indurate and enclosing the caryopses at maturity, 5-9-veined, often with twisted, strigose hairs below midlength, apices dentate to bifid or biaristate, usually awned, sometimes unawned, awns dorsal, usually once-geniculate and strongly twisted in the basal portion;

paleas bifid or entire, keels ciliate;

lodicules 2, free, glabrous, toothed or not toothed;

anthers 3;

ovaries hairy.

shorter than the lemmas, concealed at maturity, terete, ventrally grooved, pubescent;

hila linear, x = 7.

= 42.