Flora of North America species comparison

30-130 cm, erect to slightly decumbent;

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

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 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.

(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.

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, 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.

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

= 28.

= 28.