Flora of North America species comparison

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

nodes usually glabrous or the lower nodes puberulent.

70-150 cm, erect, glabrous.

glabrous;

ligules absent, ligule region sometimes pubescent;

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

glabrous;

ligules absent;

blades 8-35 cm long, 3-20(30) 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.

7-18 cm, erect to slightly drooping at maturity, rachises not or only sparsely hispid, nodes with papillose-based hairs;

branches numerous, appressed or ascending, spikelike, not or only sparsely hispid, hairs papillose-based;

primary branches 1.5-4 cm, glabrous or sparsely hispid, hairs to 3 mm, papillose-based;

secondary branches, if present, usually concealed by the densely packed spikelets;

longer pedicels 0.2-0.5 mm.

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

3-3.5 mm, often with 1 sterile and 2 bisexual florets, not disarticulating at maturity (particularly those near the bases of the panicles), scabrous or short-hispid but without papillose-based hairs, green and pale at maturity, apices usually obtuse, varying to acute.

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.

narrower and shorter than the upper lemmas;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas unawned;

lower paleas subequal to the lower lemmas;

upper lemmas 2.5-3 mm, ovate to elliptic, coriaceous portion terminating abruptly at the base of the membranous tip;

anthers 0.8-1 mm.

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

embryos 59-86% as long as the caryopses.

1.7-2.2 mm long, 1.6-1.8 mm wide, whitish;

embryos 66-86% as long as the caryopses.

= 54.

= 54.