Flora of North America species comparison

(10)25-150 cm, erect or decumbent, branching, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes;

nodes 3-6.

30-80 cm, sometimes erect, usually decumbent and branching and rooting at the lower nodes, not branching at the upper nodes.

keeled, basal sheaths usually with papillose-based hairs, rarely glabrous;

ligules 0.3-1.5 mm;

blades 2-18 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, flat or involute, glabrous, scabrous, or pilose.

of the lower leaves villous, those of the upper leaves sometimes glabrous, those of the flag leaves without axillary panicles;

ligules 1.5-2 mm;

blades 10-15 cm long, 2-7 mm wide, hirsute to nearly glabrous.

with 2-7 spikelike primary branches, these digitate or the rachises to 1 cm;

longest primary branches 20-25 cm, axes triquetrous, not winged, with spikelets in unequally pedicellate groups of 3(-5) on the basal ½ (J.

with 5-10 spikelike primary branches on 1-4 cm rachises;

primary branches 5-10(13) cm, axes triquetrous, narrowly winged, wings less than 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions of the branches bearing paired spikelets;

secondary branches rarely present.

1.3-2.8 mm.

2-3.6 mm, narrowly ovate-oblong, acute.

absent or to 0.1 mm;

upper glumes 1-2 mm long, from 3/4 to almost as long as the spikelets, almost glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent with clavate to capitate hairs (use 20x magnification), glume apices rounded;

lower lemmas equaling the spikelets, glabrous or glandular-pubescent, 5-7-veined, veins unequally spaced, outer 3 veins on each side closer to each other than the midvein is to the inner lateral veins;

upper lemmas 1.3-2 mm, apiculate, dark brown at maturity;

anthers 0.3-0.6 mm.

absent;

upper glumes almost as long as the spikelets, 3(5)-veined, shortly villous on the margins and sometimes between the margins;

lower lemmas similar to the upper glumes;

upper lemmas gray or yellow, sometimes purple-tinged, becoming purple at maturity.

narrowly oblong.

, pers.

.).

= 36, 54.

= 54.