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.

10-40 cm tall, 0.2-0.8 (1.6) mm thick, weak, erect or reclining;

nodes usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely bearded;

internodes usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely pubescent;

fall phase with spreading culms, sparingly branched, branching mostly from the midculm nodes, occasionally producing small fascicles of leafy branchlets.

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.

4-9;

sheaths much shorter than the internodes, prominently veined, glabrous or sparsely pilose and ciliate, particularly at the top;

ligules 0.2-1.8 mm, often more than 1 mm, of hairs, without adjacent pseudoligules;

blades 1.5-3.5 cm long (seldom longer), 1.5-4 mm wide, all similar in size, thin, spreading or reflexed, abaxial surfaces puberulent, at least apically, or sparsely pilose, adaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely pilose, at least basally, bases abruptly and strongly constricted, occasionally ciliate, margins entire or faintly scabridulous, rarely white-cartilaginous.

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

1.2-1.5 mm, ellipsoid to obovoid, yellow-green to purplish, puberulent or glabrous, subacute or obtuse.

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.

seldom more than 1/4 as long as the spikelets, acute or obtuse;

upper glumes usually slightly shorter than the lower lemmas and upper florets, not strongly veined;

upper florets 1.1-1.4 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, ellipsoid, acute.

rosettes poorly differentiated;

sheaths glabrous;

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

rosettes well-differentiated;

blades 1.5-6 cm, ovate to lanceolate, soft, glabrous.

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.

panicles 1.5-4 cm, nearly as wide as long, long-exserted;

branches wiry, mostly spreading, minutely scabridulous.

= 18.

= 18.