Flora of North America species comparison

15-55 cm, slender, erect or radiating from a large tuft of predominantly basal leaves, lower internodes short, upper 3-5 internodes elongate;

nodes bearded with soft, spreading or retrorse hairs;

internodes glabrous;

fall phase branching extensively from the basal nodes, forming a dense cushion that overwinters.

10-45 cm, erect to spreading, lower 4-10 internodes telescoped together, less than 2 cm, upper 2 internodes elongated;

nodes bearded;

internodes pubescent to subglabrous;

fall phase a dense mass of erect blades and foreshortened branches that arise from the basal culm nodes, about 54 of the branches sterile, others with small, narrow, secondary panicles of 3-7 spikelets that remain enclosed within the sheaths.

2-4;

sheaths usually longer than the internodes, pilose, hairs to 4 mm, retrorse or spreading;

ligules 0.2-1 mm, at low magnification appearing to be membranous and ciliate, at high magnification evidently of hairs that are coherent at the base;

blades 4-17 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, lanceolate, at least 3/4 as long as the basal blades, spreading to suberect, thin, soft, lax, yellowish-green, nearly glabrous or densely pilose on 1 or both surfaces, margins usually finely short-ciliate, at least on the basal 1/2, cilia not papillose-based.

2-4;

sheaths longer than the internodes, glabrous or densely ascending-pilose;

ligules about 0.5 mm;

blades 6-15 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, green to grayish-green, sometimes involute, glabrous or densely pilose, apices long-tapering, lower blades small to vestigial, upper 2 or 3 blades longer and stiffly erect.

1.7-2.3 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide, broadly ovate or oblong-obovoid, with papillose-based hairs, obtuse.

3.2-4.3 mm long, 1-1.7 mm wide, ellipsoid-pointed, glabrous or finely pubescent.

1/4 - 1/3 as long as the spikelets, broadly deltoid;

upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal, usually fully covering the upper florets;

upper florets 1.5-1.8 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide, broadly ellipsoid or obovoid, minutely umbonate.

1.2-1.6 mm, narrowly triangular;

upper glumes and lower lemmas exceeding the upper florets by 0.2-1 mm, forming a pointed beak, upper florets 1.9-3.1 mm, obovoid, minutely umbonate.

rosettes poorly differentiated;

blades ovate to lanceolate.

rosettes poorly differentiated;

blades similar in shape to the lower cauline blades, narrow, ascending.

panicles 4-12 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, well-exserted;

secondary panicles more compact, usually not exserted above the crowded basal leaves;

rachises and branches wiry, spreading or deflexed, often pilose.

panicles 3-6 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide, usually long-exserted (sometimes contracted and remaining basal), with 7-25 spikelets.

= 18.

= 18.