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.

30-75 cm, nearly erect, stiff, slightly fleshy or thickened;

nodes glabrous, often with a constricted, yellowish ring;

internodes glabrous;

fall phase with few, long, suberect branches, sparingly rebranched, branches arising mostly from near the base.

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.

4-7;

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

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;

blades 5-10 cm long, 5-10 mm wide, stiffly ascending, thick, glabrous, veins evident, bases cordate, with papillose-based cilia, margins whitish, cartilaginous.

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

1-1.4 mm, broadly obovoid-spherical, puberulent to subglabrous.

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.

0.2-0.4 mm, acute, upper florets 0.8-1.1 mm, broadly ellipsoid, minutely umbonate.

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 numerous, to 15 cm, lowest blades ovate, upper blades lanceolate, grading into the cauline blades.

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 5-14 cm, 1/2 - 2/3 as wide as long, exserted.

= 18.

= unknown.