Flora of North America species comparison

15-35(55) cm, prostrate to strongly decumbent, at least at the base;

nodes glabrous.

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

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

glabrous or shortly pilose;

auricles usually present, 0.5-1 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.4(0.7) mm, usually truncate, occasionally acute, entire to erose;

blades 1.5-4 mm wide, usually involute, adaxial surfaces prominently ribbed.

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.

3.5-10 cm long, 0.8-1.2 cm wide excluding the awns, 3-6 cm wide including the awns, usually with 1 spikelet per node, occasionally with 2 spikelets at the lower nodes;

internodes 2.5-5(7) mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, glabrous, mostly smooth, edges scabrous.

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.

9-15 mm long, 6-12 mm wide, appressed to ascending, with 3-6 florets;

rachilla internodes 0.8-1.3 mm, scabridulous;

disarticulation initially at the rachis nodes, subsequently beneath each floret.

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.

4-9 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, mostly glabrous, midveins scabrous, 3-5-veined, entire, tapering into a divergent, 12-30 mm awn;

lemmas 7-10 mm, usually glabrous, occasionally scabridulous, awned, awns 15-30 mm, divergent, scabridulous;

paleas usually longer than the lemmas, apices ciliate, truncate or the veins extending into teeth, teeth about 0.5 mm;

anthers 1-1.6 mm.

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.

May to July.

= 28.

= 28, rarely 42.