Flora of North America species comparison

30-75 cm, erect, glabrous below.

10-80 cm, erect to geniculate or decumbent below, glabrous.

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.

hirsute at the apices, hairs to 4 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;

blades 2-20 cm long, 1-4.5 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous and smooth, adaxial surfaces scabridulous.

(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.

5-25 cm long, 3-12(15) cm wide, ovoid to pyramidal, usually open, sometimes contracted;

primary branches 0.6-8.5 cm, appressed or diverging to 80° from the rachises, solitary or paired at the lowest 2 nodes;

pulvini glabrous or sparsely hairy;

pedicels 1-7 mm, flexible, appressed to widely divergent, sometimes capillary.

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.

3.5-11 mm long, 1.2-2.5 mm wide, linear-oblong to narrowly lanceolate, plumbeous, yellowish-brown, or dark reddish-purple, with 6-22 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

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.

subulate to ovate-lanceolate, hyaline;

lower glumes 0.5-1.5 mm, at least 1/2 as long as the adjacent lemmas;

upper glumes 1-1.7 mm, usually broader than the lower glumes;

lemmas 1-2.2 mm, ovate-lanceolate, hyaline to membranous, grayish-green proximally, reddish-purple distally, lateral veins moderately conspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1-2 mm, hyaline to membranous, keels scabridulous, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.2-0.7 mm, purplish.

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

0.5-1.1 mm, pyriform, slightly laterally compressed, smooth, faintly striate, brownish.

= 40.

= 60.