Flora of North America species comparison

15-45(65) cm, erect or decumbent, sometimes with crateriform glands below the nodes.

30-75 cm, erect, glabrous below.

glabrous, occasionally glandular, apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.4-0.8 mm, ciliate;

blades (1)5-20 cm long, (1)3-5(10) mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, sometimes glandular, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, occasionally also hairy.

mostly glabrous, hairy at the apices, hairs to 4 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.3 mm;

blades 10-25(40) cm long, 1-5 mm wide, involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, sometimes also sparsely pilose.

(3)5-16(20) cm long, 2-8.5 cm wide, oblong to ovate, condensed to open;

primary branches 0.4-5 cm, appressed or diverging 20-80° from the rachises;

pulvini glabrous or hairy;

pedicels 0.2-3 mm, stout, straight, stiff, usually divergent, occasionally appressed.

(3)5-30 cm long, 1-15 cm wide, from narrowly oblong, glomerate, and interrupted below to ovate and open;

primary branches 0.5-12(16) cm, appressed or diverging up to 40° from the rachises, stiff;

pulvini glabrous or sparsely hairy;

pedicels 0-1(3) mm, appressed, flattened.

6-20 mm long, 2-4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, plumbeous, greenish, with 10-40 florets;

disarticulation below the florets, each floret falling as a unit, rachillas persistent.

6-16(23) cm long, 2.4-5 mm wide, ovate to linear-elliptic, flattened, stramineous, with reddish-purple margins or completely reddish-purple, with 10-45 florets;

disarticulation basipetal, florets falling intact and before the glumes.

broadly ovate to lanceolate, membranous, usually glandular;

lower glumes 1.2-2 mm, usually 1-veined;

upper glumes 1.2-2.6 mm, often 3-veined;

lemmas 2-2.8 mm, broadly ovate, membranous, keels with 1-3 crateriform glands, apices obtuse to acute;

paleas 1.2-2.1 mm, hyaline, keels scabrous, sometimes also ciliate, cilia to 0.3 mm, apices obtuse to acute;

anthers 3, 0.2-0.5 mm, yellow.

ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, membranous;

lower glumes 1.7-3 mm;

upper glumes 2.2-4 mm, apices acuminate;

lemmas 2-6 mm, ovate, membranous to leathery, apices usually acuminate or attenuate, sometimes acute;

paleas 1.5-3 mm, membranous to leathery, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse, sometimes bifid;

anthers 2, 0.2-0.5 mm, brownish.

0.5-0.7 mm, globose to broadly ellipsoid, smooth to faintly striate, not grooved, reddish-brown or translucent.

0.8-1.3 mm, ellipsoid, somewhat laterally flattened, smooth, reddish-brown.

= 20.

= 40.