Flora of North America species comparison

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

50-130 cm, erect, single or a few together;

nodes (2)3-5(6), usually glabrous, rarely pubescent;

internodes usually glabrous, rarely pubescent.

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, rarely pubescent or pilose;

auricles sometimes present;

ligules to 3 mm, glabrous, truncate, erose;

blades 11-35(42) cm long, 5-15 mm wide, flat, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent or pilose.

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, erect;

branches ascending or spreading.

(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.

20-40 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, sometimes purplish, with (5)8-10 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.

glabrous;

lower glumes (4)6-8(9) mm, 1(3)-veined;

upper glumes (5)7-10 mm, 3-veined;

lemmas 9-13 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, usually glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous, margins sometimes sparsely puberulent, the basal part of the backs less frequently so, apices acute to obtuse, entire;

awns absent or to 3 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 3.5-6 mm.

= 42.

= 28, 56.