Flora of North America species comparison

30-200 cm, spreading, decumbent or stiffly erect;

nodes usually glabrous or the lower nodes puberulent.

1-2 m tall, to 1 cm thick, erect or decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, upper portion sometimes floating distally;

nodes glabrous or antrorsely villous.

glabrous;

ligules absent, ligule region sometimes pubescent;

blades to 65 cm long, 5-30 mm wide, usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely hirsute.

mostly glabrous, minutely puberulent, or hispid, hairs papillose-based, throat hispid;

ligules present on the lower leaves, 1-5 mm, of stiff hairs;

blades 15-70 cm long, 5-13 mm wide, glabrous.

5-25 cm, with few-many papillose-based hairs at or below the nodes of the primary axes, hairs sometimes longer than the spikelets;

primary branches 1.5-10 cm, erect to spreading, longer branches with short, inconspicuous secondary branches, axes scabrous, sometimes also sparsely hispid, hairs to 5 mm, papillose-based.

13-45 cm, erect, rachis nodes hispid, hairs 3-6.5 mm, papillose-based, internodes scabrous;

primary branches 4-10 cm, subverticillate, ascending, nodes hispid, hairs 2.5-4 mm, papillose-based, internodes scabrous;

secondary branches short, spikelets subsessile, in clusters.

2.5-4 mm long, 1.1-2.3 mm wide, disarticulating at maturity.

4-7 mm, hispid, hairs appressed, disarticulating at maturity.

at least 1/2 as long as the spikelets;

lower florets staminate;

lower lemmas apiculate or awned, awns to 18 mm;

lower paleas subequal to the lower lemmas, often purple;

anthers of lower florets 1.5-3.6 mm, orange;

upper lemmas 2.5-5 mm, elliptic or narrowly ovate, apices obtuse, with a membranous, soon-withering tip;

anthers of upper florets shorter than those of the lower florets.

about as long as the spikelets;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas unawned to awned, sometimes varying within a branch, awns to 50 mm;

lower paleas subequal to the lemmas;

upper lemmas broadly ovate to elliptical, coriaceous portion rounded distally, passing abruptly into an early-withering, acuminate, membranous tip that is further demarcated from the coriaceous portion by a line of minute hairs (use 25x magnification);

anthers 0.5-1 mm.

1.3-2.2 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, ovoid or oblong, brownish;

embryos 59-86% as long as the caryopses.

to 3 mm.

= 54.

= 54.