Flora of North America species comparison

30-60 cm, slender.

45-120(180) cm tall, usually less than 3 mm thick, erect.

pilose-pubescent to nearly glabrous;

blades 7-28 cm long, 2-9 mm wide, pilose or glabrous.

mostly glabrous or retrorsely soft pilose, throats usually hairy;

auricles sometimes present on the lower leaves;

ligules 1-3.5(4) mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy, acute to obtuse, lacerate or erose;

blades 8-30 cm long, 1-12 mm wide, flat or becoming involute, glabrous or sparsely pilose to pubescent on 1 or both surfaces.

10-20 cm long, 3-9 cm wide, erect, dense;

branches appressed to spreading, sometimes flexuous.

5-40 cm, lax, open or erect;

lower branches usually shorter than 10 cm, 1-4 per node, ascending to strongly divergent or reflexed, with 1-4 spikelets variously distributed.

15-20 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, more or less terete, with 3-9 florets.

20-40 mm, shorter than at least some pedicels and branches, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, not crowded or overlapping, sometimes purplish, with 4-11 florets.

glabrous, acuminate;

lower glumes 8-10 mm, 1-veined;

upper glumes 12-16 mm, 3(5)-veined;

lemmas 11-14 mm, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, sparsely pubescent, 5-veined, rounded over the midvein, apices acuminate, bifid, teeth 2-3 mm, usually aristate, sometimes acuminate;

awns 13-20 mm, geniculate, strongly to moderately twisted in the basal portion, arising 1.5 mm or more below the lemma apices;

anthers 2-2.5 mm.

glabrous or pubescent;

lower glumes 7-11 mm, 3-7(9)-veined;

upper glumes 9-13 mm, shorter than the lowest lemma, 5-9(11)-veined;

lemmas 10-16(17) mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, strongly keeled distally, usually more or less uniformly pubescent or pubescent on the margins only, sometimes glabrous or scabrous, 7-9-veined, veins usually not raised or riblike, apices entire or with acute teeth shorter than 1 mm;

awns 4-17 mm, sometimes slightly geniculate;

anthers 1-6 mm.

= unknown.

= 28, 42, 56.