Flora of North America species comparison

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

(5)8-35(55) cm, erect, usually smooth and glabrous, sometimes sparsely scabrous or puberulent near the inflorescence.

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, smooth or scabrous, persistent or slowly shredding into fibers;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.4 mm;

blades (0.3)0.5-1(1.2) mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces smooth or sparsely scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, veins (3)5-7, ribs 3-5;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 3-7(9) narrow strands, usually less than twice as wide as high;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent;

flag leaf sheaths not inflated, more or less tightly enclosing the culms;

flag leaf blades (0.3)1-2.5(3) cm.

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

branches spreading and lax.

1.5-4(5.5) cm, contracted, usually panicles, very rarely racemes, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches usually erect, sometimes spreading at anthesis, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

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

3.5-7(8.5) mm, with 2-4(6) 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, ovate-lanceolate, usually glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous distally;

lower glumes (1.2)1.8-3(3.5) mm;

upper glumes (2.4)2.6-4(4.6) mm;

lemmas 2.5-4.5(6) mm, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, scabrous towards the apices, awns (0.8)1-3(3.5) mm, terminal;

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

anthers (0.5)0.7-1.1(1.3) mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

= 56.

= 28, 42, 44.