Flora of North America species comparison

15-60 cm, erect.

30-45 cm.

glabrous;

ligules 0.7-1 mm;

blades to 20 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, without basal hairs, glabrous or scabrous, upper cauline leaves often greatly reduced.

glabrous or sparsely pilose;

ligules membranous, not or only shortly ciliate;

blades to 15 cm long, about 4 mm wide, scabrous.

with 10-20 branches in several closely-spaced whorls;

branches 2-5 cm, spreading, with 14-18 spikelets per cm;

disarticulation beneath the glumes.

with 8-10 clearly separate branches, these usually digitate, occasionally a poorly-developed second whorl present just below the terminal whorl;

branches to 20 cm, divergent, basal 2-5 cm without spikelets, averaging 3-4 spikelets per cm elsewhere.

with 1 bisexual and 1 sterile floret.

with 1 bisexual and 1 sterile floret.

0.5-0.7 mm;

upper glumes 1-1.5 mm;

lowest lemmas 1.5-2 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, broadly elliptic, mostly glabrous but the keels and marginal veins appressed-pilose, obtuse, awned, awns 0.3-1.5 mm;

second florets 1-1.5 mm long and about equally wide, conspicuously inflated, spherical, with the distal portion of the margins inrolled, not or inconspicuously bilobed, lobes less than 1/5 as long as the lemmas, midveins sometimes excurrent to 1.5 mm.

2.7-3 mm;

upper glumes 3.5-3.8 mm;

lowest lemmas 3.7-4.3 mm long, 0.7-0.8 mm wide, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, sides not conspicuously grooved, margins glabrous or sparsely appressed pubescent distally with hairs shorter than 1 mm, apices acute, awned, awns 7-11 mm;

second florets 2-2.5 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, narrowly elliptic, acute, inconspicuously bilobed, awns 4.5-6.5 mm.

0.9-1.2 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, obovoid.

about 2.3 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, ellipsoid, trigonous.

= 40.

= unknown.