Flora of North America species comparison

30-75 cm, erect.

to 135 cm.

glabrous;

ligules about 0.5 mm, shortly ciliate;

blades to 20 cm long, to 5 mm wide, sometimes with long basal hairs, otherwise scabrous.

mostly glabrous;

ligules 0.7-1 mm, erose to lacerate;

blades to 45 cm long, to 15 mm wide, with basal hairs, otherwise usually glabrous, occasionally scabrous.

with 5-17, evidently distinct branches in 1-3 closely-spaced whorls;

branches to 7 cm, usually erect when young, spreading to reflexed at maturity, averaging 12 spikelets per cm.

digitate, with (4)8-28 evidently distinct and easily separable branches;

branches (5)8-20 cm, flexible, usually more or less spreading, sometimes drooping, averaging 12 spikelets per cm.

with 1 bisexual and 1 staminate floret.

strongly imbricate, with 1 bisexual and usually 2 sterile florets.

1.5-3.2 mm;

upper glumes 2.5-3.4 mm;

lowest lemmas 2.8-3.7 mm long, 0.6-1.1 mm wide, broadly linear to elliptic, mostly glabrous but the margins appressed pubescent, apices obtuse, not conspicuously bilobed, sometimes shortly mucronate;

second florets 1.4-2.2 mm long, 0.3-0.9 mm wide, usually at least twice as long as wide, not lobed, unawned, occasionally mucronate.

1-2.5 mm;

upper glumes 1.9-3.5 mm;

lowest lemmas 1.5-2.8 mm long, 0.5-0.9 mm wide, elliptic, strongly laterally compressed, margins conspicuously hairy for most of their length, hairs 1-3 mm, strongly divergent, keels densely appressed pubescent, not or only minutely bilobed, apices awned, awns 1.4-4.8 mm;

second florets 1-1.6 mm, cylindrical to narrowly turbinate, shortly bilobed, lobes less than 1/5 as long as the lemmas, awned from the sinuses, awns 1.7-4 mm;

third florets often enclosed by the first sterile florets, 0.5-0.9 mm, turbinate or flabellate, as long as or longer than the subtending rachilla segments, sometimes inflated apically, unawned.

1.7-2.3 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide, ellipsoid.

about 1 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide.

= ca. 65, 80.

= 72.