Flora of North America species comparison

20-110 cm, erect or ascending.

40-130 cm tall, 3-7 mm thick, often decumbent.

coarsely striate, pilose, hairs sparse to moderately dense, throats pilose;

auricles rarely present;

ligules 3.5-5 mm, usually glabrous, occasionally pubescent, lacerate;

blades 13-35 cm long, 6-15 mm wide, flat, usually sparsely to moderately pilose on both surfaces, sometimes glabrous.

4-16 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, erect, open;

branches sometimes longer than the spikelets, slender, usually ascending, slightly curved or straight.

10-28 cm, erect, open or somewhat contracted;

lower branches to 10 cm, 1-2 per node, stiffly ascending, with (1)2-3 spikelets on the distal 72, sometimes confined to the tips.

12-20 mm, lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed;

florets 5-6, bases concealed at maturity;

rachilla internodes 1-1.5 mm, concealed at maturity.

25-40 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, with 3-6 florets.

smooth to scabrous;

lower glumes 4-6 mm, (3)5-veined;

upper glumes 4-7 mm, 7-veined;

lemmas 6.5-8 mm long, 3-4.5 mm wide, elliptic to lanceolate, coriaceous, backs smooth, distinctly 7(9)-veined, not ribbed, rounded over the midvein, margins scabrous, rounded, not inrolled at maturity, apices acute to obtuse, bifid, teeth shorter than 1 mm;

awns 5-9 mm, all more or less equal in length, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 1.5-3 mm.

glabrous or pubescent;

lower glumes 9-13 mm, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 10-15 mm, 7(9)-veined;

lemmas 12-17 mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, usually softly pubescent, sometimes glabrous, strongly keeled at least distally, 9(11)-veined, veins conspicuous distally, apices entire or with acute teeth shorter than 1 mm;

awns (3)5-10 mm;

anthers 2.2-4.2 mm.

shorter than the paleas, thin, weakly inrolled or flat.

sheaths densely hairy, hairs stiff, often retrorse;

upper sheaths glabrous or pubescent;

ligules 1-2 mm, glabrous or hairy, erose;

blades 7-18 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, pilose on both surfaces.

= 28.

= 56.