Flora of North America species comparison

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

10-37 cm, erect, 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 about 1/2 their length, glabrous, persistent;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;

blades 0.4-0.7(1) mm in diameter, conduplicate, veins 5-7, ribs 1-5, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces scabrous or puberulent;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-7 strands, at least twice as wide as high, often some strands confluent;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

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

branches spreading and lax.

(1.5)2-5 cm, contracted, with 1-2 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.

4-5.6(6) mm, with 3-4(5) 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, mostly glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous distally;

lower glumes 1.5-2 mm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate;

upper glumes (2)2.2-2.7 mm, ovate;

lemmas (2.5)3-3.5(4) mm, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, usually scabrous distally, sometimes smooth, usually awned, occasionally unawned, awns 0.7-2.1 mm, terminal;

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

anthers 0.8-1.3 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

leaf sheaths tight or somewhat loose;

flag leaf blades 1-5 cm.

= 56.

= 42.