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.

45-110 cm, nearly erect;

nodes glabrous or the lower nodes slightly bearded;

internodes glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

fall phase branching from the mid-culm nodes, branches nearly erect, scarcely 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, glabrous or softly villous basally, margins ciliate, collars pubescent;

ligules 0.4-0.7 mm, membranous, ciliate, cilia longer than the membranous portion;

blades 3.7-7 times longer than wide, 15-40 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, with 11-13 major veins and 40-120 minor veins, bases cordate-clasping, with papillose-based cilia.

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

2.9-3.9 mm long, 1.6-2 mm wide, ellipsoid, sparsely pubescent.

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 and lower lemmas slightly shorter than the spikelets, often red-tinged basally and apically;

lower florets staminate, anthers exserted prior to those of the upper florets;

upper florets pointed, apiculate, upper lemmas with a minute fringe 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.

panicles 7-15 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, 1.5-2 times as long as wide, with 20-80 spikelets, eventually at least partially exserted;

branches stiff, ascending to spreading.

= 18.

= 18, 36.