Flora of North America species comparison

50-140 cm, stout, pilose with papillose-based hairs to subglabrous;

fall phase branching from the mid- and upper culm nodes, with a few, nearly erect, elongate branches, sparsely rebranching, sheaths overlapping, concealing the secondary panicles;

nodes not swollen, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.

20-60 cm, with caudices, slender, glabrous, weakly ascending, with a tuft of predominantly basal leaves, only the upper 3 internodes elongated;

fall phase rarely branching, branches, if present, from the basal and sub-basal nodes, erect.

5-10;

sheaths not overlapping, striate-ribbed, narrowing above midlength, hispid to sparsely hirsute, hairs sometimes papillose-based, summits mottled with pale spots, margins ciliate, collars puberulent;

ligules 0.4-0.9 mm, membranous;

blades 10-25 cm long, 15-30 mm wide, flat, lanceolate, often rigid, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, with 9-13 major veins and 40-80 minor veins, bases cordate, with papillose-based cilia, apices acuminate.

3-4;

sheaths longer than the internodes, lower sheaths sparsely ascending to spreading-pilose, upper sheaths somewhat elongate, striate, glabrous, lustrous;

ligules usually 0.5-1 mm, membranous, ciliate;

blades 2-20 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, mostly basal, ascending to erect, widest near midlength, flat to stiffly involute, tapering basally and partly encircling the culm, glabrous, blades of the flag leaves distant from and much smaller than those below.

2.4-3.6 mm long, 1.2-1.5 mm wide, narrowly ellipsoid, sparsely pubescent.

2.4-3.2 mm long, usually less than 1 mm wide, narrowly ellipsoid to ovoid, often purplish-stained, glabrous.

1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, narrowly triangular;

upper glumes and lower florets slightly shorter than the spikelets, with 7 or 9 prominent veins;

lower florets sterile;

upper florets umbonate, apices with a minute tuft of hairs.

less than 1/3 as long as the spikelets, acute;

upper glumes and lower lemmas clearly longer than the upper florets, prominently veined, apices acuminate and usually beaked;

lower florets sterile;

upper florets about 2 mm long, about 1 mm wide, ellipsoid, acute.

rosettes well-differentiated;

sheaths pubescent;

blades ovate to lanceolate.

rosettes somewhat differentiated;

blades lanceolate.

panicles 8-16 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, exserted, with many spikelets.

panicles 2-7 cm long, almost as wide when expanded, long-exserted, sparse;

branches few, ascending to spreading, glabrous or scabridulous.

= 36.

= unknown.