Flora of North America species comparison

5-90 cm, erect, slender, puberulent below the panicle.

40-120 cm, erect or ascending.

usually densely and softly retrorsely pubescent to pilose, upper sheaths sometimes glabrous;

auricles absent;

ligules 2-3 mm, glabrous, obtuse, lacerate;

blades to 16 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, both surfaces softly hairy.

5-20 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, open, lax, drooping distally, usually 1-sided;

branches 1-4 cm, drooping, usually 1-sided and longer than the spikelets, usually at least 1 branch with 4-8 spikelets.

7-16 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, open, erect to ascending;

branches sometimes longer than the spikelets, slender, ascending to spreading.

10-20 mm, usually shorter than the panicle branches, sides parallel or diverging distally, moderately laterally compressed, often purplish-tinged, not densely crowded, with 4-8 florets.

14-18(30) mm, oblong-lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, not purple-tinged;

florets 4-9(11), bases concealed or visible at maturity;

rachilla internodes 1.5-2 mm, concealed or visible at maturity.

villous, pubescent, or glabrous, margins hyaline;

lower glumes 4-9 mm, 1-veined;

upper glumes 7-13 mm, 3-5-veined;

lemmas 9-12 mm, lanceolate, glabrous or pubescent to pilose, 5-7-veined, rounded over the midvein, margins hyaline, often with some hairs longer than those on the backs, apices acuminate, hyaline, bifid, teeth 0.8-2(3) mm;

awns 10-18 mm, straight, arising 1.5 mm or more below the lemma apices;

anthers 0.5-1 mm.

usually glabrous, sometimes scabrous or pubescent;

lower glumes 5-7 mm, 5-veined;

upper glumes 6-9 mm, 7(9)-veined;

lemmas 8-11.5 mm long, 1.7-2.6 mm wide, elliptic to lanceolate, coriaceous, backs usually glabrous, distinctly 7(9)-veined, not ribbed, rounded over the midvein, margins scabrous or pubescent, bluntly angled, inrolled or not at maturity, apices acute to obtuse, bifid, teeth shorter than 1 mm;

awns 3-10 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices, awn of the lowest lemma shorter than the others;

anthers 0.7-1.7 mm.

equaling or shorter than the paleas, weakly to strongly inrolled.

sheaths densely hairy, hairs stiff, often retrorse;

upper sheaths pubescent or glabrous;

ligules 1-2.5 mm, glabrous or pilose, obtuse, ciliolate;

blades 9-18 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, pilose on both surfaces.

= 14.

= 14, 28, 56.