Flora of North America species comparison

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

50-100 cm, erect or spreading;

nodes 5-7, pilose or 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.

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, nodding;

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.

20-30 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with 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 pilose or pubescent, rarely glabrous;

lower glumes 6-8 mm, 1-veined;

upper glumes 8-8.5 mm, 3-veined, mucronate;

lemmas 10-12 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, backs and margins pilose or pubescent, apices acute to obtuse, entire;

awns 3-5 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 1.5-3 mm.

sheaths pubescent or pilose, throats pilose;

upper sheaths pubescent or glabrous, midrib of the culm leaves not abruptly narrowed just below the collar;

auricles absent;

ligules 1-2 mm, glabrous, truncate or obtuse;

blades 20-30 cm long, (4)7-11 mm wide, flat, both surfaces pilose or the abaxial surface glabrous.

= 42.

= 28.