Flora of North America species comparison

30-150 (200) cm, glabrous or pubescent, sometimes scabrous.

(25)50-80(105) cm, erect, glabrous and smooth throughout.

closed for less than 1/3 their length, persistent, glabrous or pilose, smooth or scabrous, sometimes scabrous or pilose only distally or on the distal margins;

collars usually densely pubescent or with a few hairs at the margins, sometimes glabrous;

ligules 0.2-5 mm, usually ciliate, abaxial surfaces puberulent;

blades 1-6.5 mm wide, conduplicate, convolute, or flat, 0.5-2(2.5) mm in diameter when convolute, deciduous, abaxial surfaces scabrous or smooth, glabrous or the bases pubescent, adaxial surfaces puberulent to pubescent, veins 9-15(17), ribs (3)5-15(17);

abaxial sclerenchyma forming more or less continuous bands, sometimes reduced to small strands;

adaxial sclerenchyma sometimes present;

girders or pillars present at most veins.

closed for about 1/2 their length, glabrous, smooth, usually reddish blue towards the bases, persistent, flag leaf sheaths tightly enclosing the culms;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades 0.6-1.2(1.5) mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, veins (5)7-9, ribs 5-9;

abaxial sclerenchyma in (5)7-9 broad strands, rarely some strands confluent;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

10-25(30) cm, open, with (1)2(4) branches per node;

branches spreading and lax.

(3)8-18 (25) cm, open or loosely contracted, with 1-2(3) branches per node;

branches somewhat lax, erect to spreading, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

8-18(20) mm, borne towards the ends of the branches, with 3-6(8) florets.

(5)6-8.5(10) mm, with (3)4-6(8) florets.

lanceolate, glabrous or sparsely scabrous at the apices;

lower glumes (4)4.5-6.7(8) mm;

upper glumes (5)6-10 mm;

lemmas (7)7.5-11 mm, lanceolate, scabrous, puberulent, sometimes minutely bidentate, acute, usually awned, rarely unawned, awns (1)2-3(4) mm;

paleas shorter than to longer than the lemmas, pubescent or glabrous on the margins, intercostal region usually puberulent distally;

anthers (3)4-7.5(8.5) mm;

ovary apices densely pubescent.

exceeded by the upper florets, lanceolate, mostly smooth and glabrous, sometimes scabrous distally;

lower glumes 2.5-4 mm;

upper glumes 3-5(5.5) mm;

lemmas (3.5)4-5.6(6.6) mm, usually smooth, sometimes scabrous near the apices, lanceolate, usually acute, sometimes obtuse, unawned, occasionally mucronate;

paleas about as long as the lemmas, intercostal region smooth or slightly scabrous distally;

anthers (2)3-4 mm;

ovary apices glabrous or sparsely pubescent.

= 56.

= 14.