Flora of North America species comparison

(40)60-150(180) cm, erect or decumbent;

nodes 4-10, mostly concealed by the leaf sheaths, glabrous.

40-140 cm, usually somewhat decumbent;

nodes 4-7, mostly exposed, usually glabrous, occasionally puberulent.

evenly distributed;

sheaths smooth or scabridulous, glabrous or hirsute, often reddish brown;

auricles 1.5-4 mm, brown or purplish black;

ligules to 1(2) mm, truncate, ciliolate;

blades (3)4-15(20) mm wide, usually firm, often ascending and somewhat involute, usually dull green, drying to grayish, adaxial surfaces usually smooth or scabridulous and glabrous, rarely sparsely hispid to villous.

evenly distributed;

sheaths usually glabrous and smooth, occasionally scabridulous or retrorsely hairy, sometimes purplish;

auricles to 1.5 mm, often absent;

ligules to 1 mm;

blades 4-12 mm wide, lax, usually deep green, adaxial surfaces usually pilose or villous, occasionally puberulent or scabridulous.

6-30 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, usually nodding, sometimes pendent or almost erect, usually with 2(3) spikelets per node, occasionally to 5 at some nodes, rarely with 1 at some nodes but never throughout;

internodes (2)3-5(7) mm long, or 5-10 mm long towards the base, 0.2-0.35 mm thick at the thinnest sections, glabrous or with a few hairs below the spikelets.

6-20 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, nodding to pendent, with 2 spikelets per node, rarely with 3 at some nodes;

internodes 3-10(12) mm long, 0.2-0.7 mm thick at the thinnest sections, usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely hairy.

12-20 mm excluding the awns, more or less divergent, with (2)3-5(7) florets, lowest florets functional;

disarticulation usually above the glumes and beneath each floret, rarely also below the glumes.

12-20 mm, appressed to divergent, sometimes purplish at higher latitudes, with 2-4(7) florets, lowest florets functional;

disarticulation above the glumes and beneath each floret.

usually equal, occasionally subequal, 11-40 mm including the awns, the basal 0-1 mm subterete and slightly indurate, glume bodies 6-13 mm long, 0.5-1.6 mm wide, linear-lanceolate to subsetaceous, entire, widening or parallel-sided above the base, 3-5-veined, glabrous to scabrous-ciliate, rarely villous on the veins, margins firm, awns (5)10-25(27) mm, straight to outcurving;

lemmas 8-15 mm, glabrous, scabrous, hispid, or uniformly villous with the hairs generally appressed, awns (10)15-40(50) mm, moderately to strongly outcurving, often contorted at the spike bases;

paleas 7-13 mm, acute, usually bidentate;

anthers 2-3.5 mm.

equal or subequal, the bases flat, occasionally indurate for 0.5 mm, veins usually evident, glume bodies (4.5)7-10(11) mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, entire, widening or parallel-sided above the base, 3-5-veined, usually scabridulous to scabrous, veins occasionally hirsute beyond midlength, margins hyaline or scarious, awns 1-10 mm, straight;

lemmas 7-14 mm, smooth or scabridulous, lateral veins hairy, margins hairy beyond midlength, marginal hairs 0.5-1 mm, longer than those elsewhere, awns (2)8-30 mm, flexuous to moderately outcurving;

paleas 6-13 mm, with hairs of varying lengths on the keels and apices, acute, bidentate;

anthers 2-3.5 mm.

May to July.

from May to July.

= 28, rarely 42.

= 28.