Flora of North America species comparison

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

nodes 3-4.

20-70 cm, erect;

nodes glabrous or pubescent.

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.

mainly cauline;

sheaths glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent, sometimes with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 0.5-2.2 mm, entire to lacerate;

blades 1.3-7.7 cm long, 1.5-4.7 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent.

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.

simple, 4.5-20 cm long, 5.5-31 cm wide, open;

branches divergent;

lower primary branches 3.6-17.7 cm, often with 1-several sterile branches near the base;

pedicels divergent, spikelets solitary.

1.2-1.7 mm, homomorphic, narrowly elliptic.

2.3-3.3 mm long, 0.6-1 mm wide, narrowly elliptic.

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.

0.1-0.4 mm;

upper glumes 1.8-2.9 mm, 3-veined, densely pubescent between the veins, hairs white, becoming purple at maturity;

lower lemmas similar to the upper glumes in length, texture, and pubescence, 5-veined, veins equidistant;

upper lemmas 1.9-2.6 mm, glabrous, dark brown, narrowly acute;

anthers 0.3-0.5 mm, yellow, red, or purple.

1.3-1.6 mm.

= 36.

= (36), 72.