Flora of North America species comparison

10-100 cm long, erect portion 30-60 cm, long-decumbent, rooting and branching at the decumbent nodes, sparingly branched or unbranched from the upper nodes;

nodes 2-5, glabrous.

10-60 cm, occasionally branching from the lower nodes.

with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 2-3.5 mm, erose;

blades 1.5-14.4(18.9) cm long, 3-9 mm wide, flat, glabrous, a few scattered papillose-based hairs at the base of the adaxial surfaces (occasionally over the whole adaxial surface), usually also scabrous on both surfaces.

3-4, clustered near the base;

sheaths usually glabrous;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 1.5-4 cm long, 3-5 mm wide, mostly glabrous, bases subcordate and ciliate, with 0.6-1 mm papillose-based hairs.

with 2-10 spikelike primary branches, these digitate or in 1-3 whorls on rachises to 2 cm;

lowest panicle nodes with hairs more than 0.4 mm;

primary branches 3-24 cm long, 0.6-1.2(2) mm wide, glabrous or with less than 1 mm hairs, axes wing-margined, wings at least 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions of the branches bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs;

secondary branches absent;

shorter pedicels 0.5-1 mm;

longer pedicels 1.5-4 mm.

with 2(-4) spikelike primary branches, digitate;

primary branches 2-5 cm, strongly divergent;

branch axes about 1 mm wide, wing-margined, wings wider than the central midribs, bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate groups of 3;

secondary branches rarely present;

shortest pedicels about 0.3 mm;

middle pedicels about 1 mm;

longest pedicels 1.5-2 mm, adnate to the branch axes basally;

axillary panicles not present.

(2.7)2.8-4.1 mm long, homomorphic.

1.2-1.5 mm, elliptic or slightly obovate, acute.

glumes 0.2-0.8 mm, acute;

upper glumes (1.2)1.5-2.7 mm, about 2/3 to almost as long as the spikelet, 3-veined, margins and apices pilose;

lower lemmas 2.7-4.1 mm, 7-veined, veins unequally spaced, outer 3 veins crowded together near each margin, well-separated from the midvein, usually smooth, occasionally the lateral veins scabridulous on the distal 1/3 margins and regions between the 2 inner lateral veins hairy, hairs 0.5-1 mm (rarely glabrous), sometimes also with glassy yellow hairs between the 2 inner lateral veins, these more common on the upper spikelets;

upper lemmas 2.5-4 mm, glabrous, yellow, tan, or gray when immature, becoming brown, often purple-tinged (occasionally completely purple) at maturity;

anthers 0.6-1 mm.

glumes absent;

upper glumes equaling or almost equaling the spikelets, 5-veined, minutely pubescent between the veins and on the margins;

lower lemmas subequal to the upper glumes, 7-veined, usually pubescent on the margins and lateral veins, occasionally glabrous, hairs, if present, 0.2-0.4 mm;

upper lemmas about 1.2 mm, pale brown or pale gray, becoming light brown at maturity, acute;

anthers 0.8-0.8 mm.

= 54.

= 18.