Flora of North America species comparison

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

25-85 (100) cm, usually smooth, glabrous, occasionally scabrous below the inflorescences.

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, smooth or scabrous, rarely pilose, persistent;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.2-0.6 mm;

blades (0.3)0.5-0.9(1.5) mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous or pubescent, rarely pilose, often glaucous or bluish, veins (3)5(7), ribs (1)3-5, well defined;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-7 wide, irregular strands;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

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

branches spreading and lax.

(5)7-15(20) cm, loosely contracted or open, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches usually somewhat spreading at maturity, sometimes erect, rarely reflexed, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

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

(5.8) 7.5-13.5(19) mm, with (2)4-7(9) 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 to lanceolate, mostly smooth, sometimes scabrous distally;

lower glumes 2.4-5(6) mm;

upper glumes 3-6(8) mm;

lemmas 5-8.5(10) mm, scabrous at the apices, awns (1.5)3-6(7) mm, usually more than 1/2 as long as the lemma bodies;

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

anthers 2.4-4.5 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

= 56.

= 28.