Flora of North America species comparison

80-130 cm, erect, with densely villous cataphylls, branching from the lower and middle nodes.

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

usually sparsely to densely papillose-hirsute, occasionally glabrous;

ligules 4-6 mm, usually lacerate, not ciliate;

blades 20-50 cm long, 10-17 mm wide, lax, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, scabridulous to scabrous adaxially.

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.

20-35 cm long, 2-10 cm wide, with numerous spikelike primary branches;

primary branches 10-15 cm, appressed to ascending at maturity, axes not wing-margined or with wings less than 1/2 as wide as the midribs;

internodes 3-4.5(6) mm (midbranch), bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs;

secondary branches rarely present;

pedicels not adnate to the branches;

shorter pedicels 0.7-2 mm;

longer pedicels 2.5-5 mm;

terminal pedicels 2-5 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.

5.5-8.2 mm (including pubescence), 4.2-5.9 mm (excluding pubescence), narrowly ovate, acuminate.

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

glumes 0.6-0.8 mm;

upper glumes 3.5-4.5 mm, 3-5-veined, pubescent on the margins;

lower lemmas 4.1-5.7 mm (exceeded 1.5-5 mm by pubescence), narrowly ovate, 7-veined, pubescent between most, sometimes all, of the veins and on the margins, veins usually obscured by a dense covering of golden-brown hairs, hairs 3-6 mm, spreading at maturity, intercostal regions on either side of the midvein glabrous or pubescent with shorter, fine, white hairs, sometimes intermixed with the golden-brown hairs;

upper lemmas 3.2-4.5 mm, narrowly ovate, brown when immature, dark brown at maturity, acuminate;

anthers 1-1.2 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.

= 36.

= 18.