Flora of North America species comparison

30-120 cm tall, 2-4 mm thick, erect or decumbent.

50-100 cm, erect to spreading;

nodes 3-5, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent;

internodes glabrous.

usually densely, often retrorsely, hairy, hairs sometimes confined to the throat;

auricles absent;

ligules 1-4 mm, glabrous or pilose, obtuse, lacerate to erose;

blades 4-30 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, flat, glabrous or hairy on both surfaces.

usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent or pilose, especially the lower sheaths, midrib of the culm leaves usually narrowed just below the collar;

auricles absent;

ligules 1-3 mm, glabrous, truncate to obtuse, laciniate;

blades 10-20 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, flat, often glaucous, usually glabrous, sometimes scabrous, basal blades often pubescent.

9-28 cm, usually open, erect or nodding;

lower branches shorter than 10 cm, 1-4 per node, spreading or ascending, with up to 5 spikelets variously distributed.

10-20 cm, open;

branches ascending and spreading or declining and drooping.

(17)20-40 mm, shorter than at least some pedicels and branches, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, not crowded or overlapping, with 4-12 florets.

15-30 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with (4)5-10 florets.

smooth or scabrous, glabrous or pubescent;

lower glumes 7-12 mm, 5-7(9)-veined;

upper glumes 9-17 mm, 7-9(11)-veined, shorter than the lowest lemma;

lemmas 11-20 mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, strongly keeled, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent distally, smooth or scabrous, 9-13-veined, veins often raised and riblike, margins sometimes conspicuous, hyaline, whitish or partly purplish, apices entire or toothed, teeth acute, shorter than 1 mm;

awns absent or to 10 mm;

anthers 0.5-1 mm in cleistogamous florets, 2-5 mm in chasmogamous florets.

usually glabrous, rarely slightly pubescent, 3-veined;

lower glumes 5.5-8 mm;

upper glumes 6.5-9 mm, often mucronate;

lemmas 8-12 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, backs pubescent or glabrous, margins usually with longer hairs, apices subulate to obtuse, entire;

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

anthers 1.5-3.5 mm.

= 42.

= 14.