Flora of North America species comparison

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

60-120 cm, erect or spreading;

nodes 4-6, pubescent or puberulent;

internodes mostly glabrous, sometimes pubescent to puberulent just below the nodes.

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.

glabrous or pilose, often pilose near the auricles;

auricles usually present on the lower leaves, rarely absent;

ligules to 1.5 mm, usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous, truncate to obtuse, laciniate, ciliolate;

blades 10-25 cm long, 3-9 mm wide, flat, glabrous, pilose on the margins or throughout.

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, usually nodding;

branches ascending to spreading or reflexed.

(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.

15-35 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with 4-10 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 pubescent, rarely glabrous, sometimes scabrous, margins often bronze-tinged;

lower glumes 4-7 mm, 3-veined;

upper glumes 6.5-9 mm, (3)5-veined;

lemmas 10-13 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, backs usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous distally, margins often bronze-tinged, pubescent nearly throughout, apices acute to obtuse, entire, rarely slightly emarginate, lobes shorter than 1 mm;

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

anthers 3.5-5 mm.

= 42.

= 14.