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.

15-60 cm, erect, usually not branching from the upper nodes;

nodes 3-4.

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.

glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

ligules 0.6-2.5 mm;

blades 1.5-9 cm long, 3-5 mm wide, glabrous, with papillose-based hairs basally.

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 2-7 spikelike primary branches in 1-2 verticils;

primary branches 3-12 cm, erect to ascending, axes 0.6-1 mm wide, wing-margined, wings at least 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions of the branches bearing spikelets in groups of 3(4, 5);

secondary branches rarely present;

axillary inflorescences absent.

(2.7)2.8-4.1 mm long, homomorphic.

1.2-1.7 mm, homomorphic, narrowly elliptic.

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 or a veinless, membranous rim;

upper glumes 1.2-1.4 mm, 1/2 as long as to almost equaling the upper lemmas, 3-veined, appressed-pubescent, hairs minutely verrucose;

lower lemmas 1.2-1.7 mm, 5-7-veined, veins equally spaced, region between the 2 inner lateral veins and the margins appressed-pubescent, hairs 0.3-0.5 mm, smooth or minutely verrucose (use 50x magnification), verrucose hairs most abundant near the lemma bases;

upper lemmas light brown when immature, dark brown at maturity;

anthers 0.4-0.6 mm.

= 54.

= 36.