Flora of North America species comparison

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

nodes 3-4.

20-70(112), often decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

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.

keeled, usually sparsely pubescent with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 0.5-2.6 mm;

blades 2-11(14) cm long, 3-8(12) mm wide, usually with papillose-based hairs on both surfaces, sometimes glabrous.

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.

with 4-13 spikelike primary branches, these subdigitate or on rachises to 6 cm;

primary branches 3-30 cm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide, flattened and winged, wings more than 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portion of the branches bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs, pedicels not adnate to the branches;

secondary branches rarely present.

1.2-1.7 mm, homomorphic, narrowly elliptic.

homomorphic, 1.7-3.4 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide.

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.

0.2-0.4 mm long, veinless;

upper glumes 0.9-2 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 3-veined, pubescent on the margins;

lower lemmas usually exceeded or equaled by the upper florets, sometimes exceeding them but by no more than 0.2 mm, glabrous, 7-veined, lateral (or all) veins scabrous throughout or smooth on the lower (1/3)1/2 and scabrous distally, 3 middle veins usually widely spaced, remaining veins on each side close together and near the margins;

upper lemmas 1.7-3 mm, yellow or gray, frequently purple-tinged when immature, often becoming brown at maturity;

anthers 0.5-0.9 mm.

= 36.

= 36, 28, 34, 54.