Flora of North America species comparison

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

50-250 cm, erect or decumbent, rooting or not at 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.

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 2-18 spikelike primary branches, these digitate or with rachises to 6 cm;

primary branches 5-25 cm, axes wing-margined, wings about as wide as the midribs, bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs;

secondary branches rarely present;

shorter pedicels 0.2-0.3 mm;

longer pedicels 1-1.5 mm.

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

homomorphic, 2.5-3.5 mm long, 0.7-0.9 mm wide, lanceolate.

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 0.2-0.5 mm, acute to truncate;

upper glumes (1.2)1.6-2.3 mm, from 1/5 as long as to almost equaling the spikelets;

lower lemmas 2.5-3.5 mm, 7-veined, veins unequally spaced, midvein and lateral veins scabrous at least on the distal 1/2, margins and region between the inner 2 lateral veins with straight, yellowish, 0.6-1 mm hairs;

upper lemmas gray to tan at maturity.

sheaths glabrous or variously pubescent (pilose, rarely tomentose or with papillose-based hairs);

upper sheaths glabrous;

ligules 0.8-2.5 mm;

blades 6-15(30) cm long, 3.5-8.5(13) mm wide, glabrous adaxially, rarely hirsute, with papillose-based hairs basally, margins scabridulous.

= 36.

= 18, 34, 36, 45, 54, 72(?).