Flora of North America species comparison

20-110 cm, erect or ascending.

50-135 cm, erect or ascending, sometimes geniculate, usually single or few together, sometimes clumped;

nodes 2-7, pubescent or glabrous;

internodes glabrous or pubescent.

pilose, villous, or glabrous;

auricles sometimes present on the lower leaves;

ligules to 4 mm, glabrous, truncate or obtuse, erose;

blades 7-30 cm long, 2.5-8.5(9) mm wide, flat, pubescent or glabrous on both surfaces, sometimes only the adaxial surface pubescent.

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

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

10-24 cm, open or contracted, erect or nodding;

branches erect to spreading.

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.

16-32(45) mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, sometimes purplish, with 4-14 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 hairy;

lower glumes (4)5-10 mm, 1(3)-veined;

upper glumes (5)7.5-13 mm, 3-veined;

lemmas 9-16 mm, lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, sparsely to densely hairy throughout, or on the margins and lower portion of the back, or along the marginal veins and keel, apices subulate to acute, entire or slightly emarginate, lobes shorter than 1 mm;

awns usually present, sometimes absent, to 7.5 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 3.5-7 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.

= 28, 56.