Flora of North America species comparison

20-110 cm, erect or ascending.

120-180 cm tall, 3-5 mm thick, erect.

glabrous or sparsely pilose;

auricles absent;

ligules 3-4 mm, glabrous or hairy, obtuse, lacerate;

blades 20^40 cm long, 2-9 mm wide, flat, sparsely pilose adaxially or on both surfaces.

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

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

25-35 cm, open;

lower branches to 20 cm, 2-4(6) per node, spreading, often drooping, with 1-3 spikelets on the distal 1/2 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.

18-38 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, with (5)6-9 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, sometimes scabrous;

lower glumes 6-10 mm, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 8-11 mm, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 12-14(15) mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, 7-11-veined, strongly keeled at least distally, usually glabrous, sometimes hirtellous, margins sometimes sparsely pilose, apices entire or with acute teeth, teeth shorter than 1 mm;

awns 5-10 mm;

anthers to 6 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.

= 42, 56.