Flora of North America species comparison

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

4-30 cm, usually erect, sometimes semi-prostrate, 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 0.1-0.3 mm;

blades (0.2)0.3-0.4(0.6) mm in diameter, conduplicate, lax, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces sparsely scabrous to puberulent, veins 3-5, ribs 1-3;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 3-5 small strands, less than twice as wide as high;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

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

branches spreading and lax.

1-4(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.

(2.5)3-5 mm, with (1)2-3(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 to ovate-lanceolate, sparsely scabrous distally;

lower glumes 1.3-2.5 mm;

upper glumes 2-3.5 mm;

lemmas (2)2.2-3.5(4) mm, ovate-lanceolate, sparsely scabrous near the apices, apices abruptly acuminate, awns 0.5-1.5(1.7) mm;

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

anthers (0.4)0.6-1.2 mm;

ovary apices usually with a few hairs, rarely glabrous.

leaf blades 0.7-3.5 cm.

= 56.

= 28.