Flora of North America species comparison

40-80 cm, disarticulating at the nodes when mature.

8-60 cm, usually erect, sometimes decumbent, not disarticulating.

glabrous, rarely sparsely pilose, usually reddish above the nodes;

blades to 30 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, flexible but not curled at maturity, glabrous, sometimes scabrous, uppermost cauline blades erect to ascending.

glabrous or pilose;

blades 5-15 cm long, 0.5-4 mm wide, usually flat, glabrous or sparsely pilose.

with (4)6-17 spikelets;

branches usually flexible, usually divergent, sometimes strongly so, after anthesis;

lower branches with 2-3 spikelets;

pedicels on the lowest branch as long as or longer than the spikelets.

with up to 15 spikelets;

branches erect;

lower branches with 1-3 spikelets.

(7)10-16 mm.

6-15 mm;

florets usually cleistogamous, rarely chasmogamous.

1.7-2.6 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide.

2.1-2.5 mm long, 1.1-1.8 mm wide.

of middle florets about as long as wide, convex abaxially;

lemma bodies 2.5-5 mm, pilose over the back, sometimes sparsely so, margins pilose to beyond midlength, distal hairs 0.5-2 mm, apical teeth 2-4 mm, aristate, (1/2)2/3 or more as long as the lemma bodies;

awns 6-10 mm;

anthers to 2.2 mm.

of middle florets from as long as to a little longer than wide, convex abaxially;

lemma bodies 5-6 mm, margins glabrous or pubescent for most of their length, scabrous apically, apices with acute teeth, teeth often scabrous, sometimes scabridulous, mucronate, not awned, from between the teeth;

palea veins swollen at the base, forming pulvini;

anthers of the cleistogamous florets 0.2-0.4 mm, those of the chasmogamous florets about 2 mm.

= 36.

= 24, 36, 124.