Flora of North America species comparison

40-120 cm, erect or slightly decumbent;

nodes 4-8, mostly exposed, glabrous.

45-135 cm, erect or geniculately ascending, glabrous.

glabrous or villous;

auricles to 1.5 mm;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm, truncate;

blades 15-30 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, sometimes villous, adaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, primary and secondary veins alternating.

evenly distributed;

sheaths usually glabrous, rarely villous;

auricles 2-3 mm, usually purplish black when fresh, sometimes light brown;

ligules shorter than 1 mm;

blades 7-15 mm wide, lax, dark glossy green under the glaucous bloom, adaxial surfaces usually glabrous, occasionally villous.

4-12 cm long, (1.7)2.2-3(4)4 cm wide, erect, exserted, with (6)9-16(20) nodes and 2 spikelets at all or most nodes, sometimes with 3 at some nodes;

internodes 4-7 mm long, about 0.3 mm thick and 2-angled at the thinnest sections, usually glabrous or scabridulous beneath the spikelets.

8-30 cm long, 1-2 cm wide including the awns, 0.5-1 cm wide excluding the awns, erect or nodding, usually with 1 spikelet per node, sometimes with 2 spikelets at the lower nodes;

internodes 10-20 mm long, about 0.8 mm wide, scabrous on the margins and on the surfaces, marginal prickles larger than those on the surfaces, hirtellous just below the spikelets.

10-15 mm, strongly divergent, glaucous, maturing to pale yellowish brown, with (2)3-4 florets, lowest florets functional;

disarticulation below the glumes and each floret, the lowest floret often falling with the glumes.

16-30 mm, loosely appressed, with 6-8 florets;

rachilla internodes about 0.8 mm, strigose, hairs to about 0.3 mm;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath each floret.

subequal, entire, the basal 1-3 mm terete or subterete, indurate, without evident venation, moderately bowed out, glume bodies 8-16 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, widening or parallel-sided above the base, (2)4-5(8)-veined, usually glabrous, occasionally hirsute, sometimes scabrous, margins firm, awns (10)15-20(25) mm, straight except the awns of the lowest spikelets occasionally contorted;

lemmas 6-12 mm, usually glabrous, sometimes scabrous, occasionally villous, awns (15)20-30 mm, straight;

paleas 6-10 mm, apices obtuse;

anthers 2-4 mm.

subequal, 10-18 mm long, 1.1-2 mm wide, elliptic-lanceolate, green, not keeled, 5-7-veined, veins more or less equally prominent, scabrous, apices acute to acuminate;

lemmas 10-14 mm, scabrous or puberulent dorsally, awned, awns (4)12-18 mm, straight;

paleas 3/4 as long as to slightly shorter than the lemmas, keels outwardly curved below the apices, apices 0.3-0.7 mm wide, truncate;

anthers 3-6 mm.

usually mid-May to mid-June.

= 28.

= 28.