Flora of North America species comparison

10-100+ cm.

15-95 cm, erect or decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

usually glabrous;

ligules to 4 mm, erose or ciliate;

blades to 30 cm long, to 15 mm wide, basal hairs to 4 mm, otherwise usually glabrous, occasionally pilose.

glabrous;

ligules 0.3-0.5 mm, erose to lacerate;

blades to 15 cm long, 0.3-0.6 mm wide, with basal hairs, otherwise usually glabrous.

digitate, with 4-20, evidently distinct branches;

branches 5-10 cm, erect to ascending, averaging 10 spikelets per cm.

digitate, with 7-15 evidently distinct branches;

branches 3-8 cm, more or less erect, averaging 14 spikelets per cm.

strongly imbricate, with 1 bisexual and 1(2) sterile floret(s).

with 1 bisexual and 2(3) sterile florets.

1.5-2.5 mm;

upper glumes 2.5-4.3 mm;

lowest lemmas 2.5-4.2 mm, keels usually prominently gibbous, glabrous, or conspicuously pilose, sides not grooved, margins glabrous, scabrous or pilose basally, with conspicuously longer hairs distally, hairs longer than 1.5 mm, lemma apices not conspicuously bilobed, awned, awns 2.5-15 mm;

second florets 1.4-2.9 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide, somewhat widened distally, not inflated, bilobed, lobes less than 1/5 as long as the lemmas, awned from the sinuses, awns 3-9.5 mm;

third florets greatly reduced, unawned and shorter than the subtending rachilla segment or absent but the rachilla segment present.

1.2-2.1 mm;

upper glumes 2.3-2.7 mm;

lowest lemmas 2-2.7 mm, ovate to elliptic, calluses and distal portion of the margins pilose, hairs to 1 mm, keels glabrous or pilose, apices awned, awns 4-7.7 mm;

second florets 0.9-1.3 mm long, 0.4-0.9 mm wide, slightly to strongly widened distally, inflated, usually glabrous, truncate, awned, awns 5-7 mm;

third florets obovoid to subspherical, smaller than the first, strongly inflated.

1.5-2 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, elliptic.

1.1-1.4 mm.

= 20, 26, 30, 40.

= 20, 40, ca. 50.