Flora of North America species comparison

18-75 cm, usually more than 1 mm thick, occasionally delicate, erect or ascending;

nodes glabrous;

internodes glabrous;

fall phase with decumbent culms, branches arising from the lower and midculm nodes, rebranching 2-3 times, with small blades and secondary panicles compared to those on the culms, secondary panicles with 8-10 spikelets, partially included at maturity.

15-55 cm tall, 0.2-0.8 mm thick, erect from geniculate bases;

nodes glabrous;

internodes mostly glabrous, or the lowest internodes sparsely appressed-pubescent basally;

fall phase branching sparingly from the lower and midculm nodes.

3-5;

sheaths shorter than the internodes, lower sheaths pubescent, upper sheaths glabrous, margins of all sheaths sparsely ciliate;

ligules about 0.5 mm, of hairs;

blades 5-11 cm long, 5-13 mm wide, thin, spreading to erect, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent abaxially, always glabrous adaxially, bases truncate to cordate, ciliate on the margins, blades of the flag leaves erect or ascending.

3-4;

sheaths much shorter than the internodes, prominently veined, mostly glabrous, margins occasionally ciliate, ligules 0.2-0.7 mm, of hairs, without adjacent pseudoligules;

blades 2-6 cm long, 1.5-6 mm wide, ascending, distant, flat, relatively thick, glabrous on both surfaces or the abaxial surfaces minutely puberulent, bases rounded, margins more or less prominently whitish-scabridulous, blades of the flag leaves much shorter than those of the lower leaves.

2-2.2 mm long, 0.8-1.3 mm wide, ellipsoid, usually reddish, shortly pubescent, subacute.

1.3-1.7 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, ellipsoid, often purplish, densely puberulent, obtuse or subacute.

0.5-1 mm, triangular-ovate;

lower florets sterile;

upper florets slightly exceeding the upper glumes and lower lemmas, subacute.

usually less than 1/4 as long as the spikelets, broadly acute or obtuse;

upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal, or the glumes slightly shorter, exceeded by the upper florets;

lower florets sterile;

upper florets 1.3-1.6 mm, ellipsoid, subacute.

rosettes well-differentiated;

blades 2-4 cm, pubescent, reddish.

rosettes well-differentiated;

blades 1-5 cm, ovate to lanceolate.

panicles 5-11 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, ovoid, long-exserted, with 40-220 spikelets.

panicles 3-6 cm, nearly as wide as long, long-exserted, dense;

branches wiry, spreading to ascending, usually scabridulous.

= 18.

= 18.