Flora of North America species comparison

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

15-65 cm, glabrous, smooth.

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 less than 1/2 their length, lower sheaths glabrous or retrorsely hirsute, persistent, upper sheaths glabrous;

collars glabrous;

ligules (0.2)0.3-0.5(1) mm;

blades all alike, 0.4-0.8 mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces sparsely scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous to pubescent, veins 5-7, ribs (1)3-5;

abaxial sclerenchyma in (3)5-7 narrow to broad strands, usually wider than the adjacent veins;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

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

branches spreading and lax.

5-15 cm, loosely contracted, with 1-2(3) branches per node;

branches erect, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

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

(6)7-9(11) 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, lanceolate, scabrous distally;

lower glumes 2.5-4 mm;

upper glumes (2.8)3-5 mm;

lemmas (3.8)4-6 mm, glabrous, smooth or scabrous distally, awns 1-2.5 mm;

paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally;

anthers 2.2-3.5 mm;

ovary apices sparsely pubescent.

= 56.

= 28.