Flora of North America species comparison

15-35 cm, stiffly erect, all but the upper 2-4 internodes very short;

nodes glabrous or with weak, reflexed hairs;

internodes purplish-gray, sparsely pubescent;

fall phase developing early, forming erect branches from the lower or midculm nodes, each branch terminating in a partially included panicle of 8-16 spikelets, no sterile shoots formed.

25-75 cm, initially erect, often sprawling in the fall, nodes densely retrorsely bearded;

internodes glabrous, or pilose with papillose-based hairs;

fall phase branching from the midculm nodes, branches nearly erect, sparsely rebranching, blades and secondary panicles only slightly reduced.

usually 3;

sheaths hirsute, hairs papillose-based;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 4-8 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, all alike, stiffly erect, green to grayish-green, flat, not plicate, sparsely pilose.

4-6, often with a transitional leaf above the basal rosette;

sheaths not overlapping, bases puberulent to retrorsely pilose, margins ciliate, collars pubescent;

ligules 0.4-0.9 mm, membranous, ciliate, cilia longer than the membranous portion;

blades 3-6 times longer than wide, 15-40 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, puberulent, or pilose, with 11-15 major veins and 40-120 minor veins, bases cordate, margins with papillose-based cilia.

4-12 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, about as long as wide when fully expanded, partially included to tardily exserted, with 16-60 spikelets.

2.4-3.2 mm long, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, ellipsoid to obovoid, often reddish throughout, short-pubescent.

3.8-5.2 mm long, 1.7-2.2 mm wide, narrowly ellipsoid, pubescent or puberulent.

0.7-1.2 mm, triangular;

upper glumes and lower lemmas about equaling the upper florets;

upper florets 1.9-2.5 mm, ellipsoid, pointed.

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

upper glumes shorter than the spikelets;

lower florets usually staminate;

upper florets pointed, with a minute tuft of hairs.

rosettes poorly differentiated;

sheaths glabrous;

blades 2-4 cm, narrow, similar to those of the lower cauline leaves, ascending to spreading.

rosettes well-differentiated;

sheaths pubescent;

blades ovate to lanceolate, dark green.

panicles 3-5 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, ovoid, open, shortly exserted, with 12-32 spikelets;

branches short, stiff, spreading;

pedicels mostly 4-8 mm, spreading.

= 18.

= 18,36.