Flora of North America species comparison

5-45 cm, slender, erect or spreading;

from a dense tuft of predominantly basal leaves, lower internodes short, upper 3-5 internodes elongate;

nodes glabrous or bearded;

internodes glabrous or pilose;

fall phase with spreading culms and branches arising from near the bases forming a dense, flat tuft.

30-95 cm, nearly erect, fairly stout;

nodes glabrous or puberulent;

internodes usually glabrous;

fall phase with few, long-ascending branches, sparingly rebranched, branches arising mostly near the base of the culms.

2-4;

lower cauline sheaths longer than the internodes, mostly glabrous or pilose with ascending hairs, margins finely ciliate;

ligules 0.2-2 mm, at low magnification appearing to be membranous and ciliate, at high magnification evidently of hairs that are coherent at the base;

blades 1.5-6 cm long, 3-8 mm wide, lanceolate, glabrous or softly pilose, margins with prominent papillose-based cilia, at least basally.

4-7;

sheaths shorter than the internodes, mostly glabrous, margins ciliate;

ligules vestigial;

blades 10-25 cm long, 14-25 mm wide, thick, firm, often light green, veins evident (some more prominent than others), bases cordate, with papillose-based cilia, margins whitish, cartilaginous.

1.1-2.1 mm, obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, glabrous or pubescent, hairs not papillose-based.

1.3-1.7 mm, broadly ellipsoid-spherical, often purplish at the base, puberulent.

1/3 - 1/2 as long as the spikelets, acute to obtuse;

upper florets 0.8-1.7 mm, ellipsoid, subacute.

0.4-0.7 mm, acute to obtuse, upper florets 1.1-1.4 mm, broadly ellipsoid, blunt.

rosettes poorly differentiated;

blades 1-5 cm, lanceolate, grading into the cauline blades.

rosettes well-differentiated;

blades 3-8 cm long, often to 2 cm wide, ovate-lanceolate.

panicles short- to long-exserted;

rachises and branches often pilose.

panicles 7-20 cm, less than 1/2 as wide as long, exserted.

= 18.