Flora of North America species comparison

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

40-190 cm, erect;

nodes 2-4, usually pubescent;

internodes usually pubescent.

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.

with long, stiff, retrorse hairs, at least on the lower portion, midrib of the culm leaves not abruptly narrowed just below the collar;

auricles present;

ligules 2-3.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely pilose, rounded to truncate, erose;

blades 10-60 cm long, 6-15 mm wide, flat, drooping, glabrous or sparsely hairy.

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.

15-40 cm long, open, lax, drooping;

branches spreading or drooping.

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.

20-40 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with 3-10 florets.

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.

glabrous, scabridulous over the veins;

lower glumes 5-8 mm, 1-veined;

upper glumes 8-11 mm, 3-veined, mucronate;

lemmas 10-14 mm, lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, margins and at least the lower 1/2 of the backs pubescent, apices acute, entire or emarginate, lobes shorter than 1 mm;

awns 4-7 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 2.5-4 mm.

= 28, 42, 56.

= 14, 28, 42.