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.

30-95 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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

= 18.

= 18.