Flora of North America species comparison

30-130 cm, erect to slightly decumbent;

nodes 4-9, concealed or exposed, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent.

8-65 (77) cm, erect or geniculate to slightly decumbent, sometimes puberulent;

nodes 4-6, mostly concealed, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent.

evenly distributed;

sheaths usually glabrous, rarely hirsute, occasionally reddish or purplish;

auricles absent or to 1.8 mm, pale brown;

ligules shorter than 1 mm;

blades 2-14(18) mm wide, usually spreading or lax, sometimes becoming involute, basal blades similar to the upper blades, adaxial surfaces usually smooth, sometimes scabridulous, usually glabrous, occasionally pubescent.

evenly distributed;

sheaths glabrous, scabrous, puberulent, or densely white-villous;

auricles usually present, to about 1 mm, often purplish;

ligules shorter than 1 mm, truncate, entire or lacerate;

blades (1)2-4(6) mm wide, spreading or ascending, often involute, sometimes folded, abaxial surfaces glabrous to puberulent, adaxial surfaces scabrous, puberulent, hirsute, or white-villous.

(3)4-16(22) cm long, 1-2.2(2.5) cm wide, erect, the bases often sheathed, with 2 spikelets per node, rarely with 3 at some nodes;

internodes 3-5 mm long, 0.25-0.5 thick at the thinnest sections, smooth and glabrous, or scabrous, or with hairs beneath the spikelets.

3-20 cm long, 5-15 cm wide, erect to sub-flexuous, with 2-3 spikelets per node, rarely with 1 at some nodes;

internodes 3-10(15) mm long, 0.1-0.4 mm thick at the thinnest sections, usually glabrous, sometimes puberulent beneath the spikelets.

10-15 mm, appressed to slightly divergent, with (2)3-4(6) florets, lowest florets functional;

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

10-20 mm, divergent, sometimes glaucous, at least 1 spikelet at a node with 2-4(5) florets, 1-4(5) florets fertile, sometimes all florets sterile in the lateral spikelets;

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

subequal or equal, the basal 1-4 mm terete, indurate, without evident venation, bowed out, yellowish, glume bodies 7-15 mm long, (0.5)0.7-2.3 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, widening above the base, 3-5(8)-veined, usually smooth or scabridulous, margins firm, awns 3-10(15) mm, straight;

lemmas 6-10 mm, scabridulous, glabrous or villous-hirsute, awns (5)8-20(25) mm, straight;

paleas 5-9 mm, obtuse;

anthers 2-3.5(4) mm.

subequal, 20-135 mm including the often undifferentiated awns, the bases indurate and glabrous, glume bodies 5-10 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, linear to setaceous, 1-3-veined, margins firm, awns 15-125 mm, scabrous, sometimes split into 2-3 unequal divisions, flexuous to outcurving from near the base at maturity;

fertile lemmas 6-12 mm, glabrous, scabrous, or appressed-pubescent, 2 lateral veins extending into bristles to 10 mm, awns 15-120 mm long, about 0.4 mm wide at the base, often reddish or purplish, scabrous, flexuous to curved near the base;

paleas 6-11 mm, veins often extending into bristles to 2(5) mm, apices acute to truncate;

anthers 0.9-2.2 mm.

usually mid-June to late July (mid-August).

from late May to July.

= 28.

= 28.