Flora of North America species comparison

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

(15)20-75 (80) cm, smooth, glabrous or with sparse hairs.

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 1/3 their length, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent, persistent;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades (0.5)0.8-1.2 mm in diameter, usually conduplicate, rarely flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous, puberulent, or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous or puberulent to pubescent, veins 5-7(9), ribs 3-7, usually distinct;

abaxial sclerenchyma usually in an irregular, interrupted or continuous band, rarely in 5-7 small strands, usually more 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.

(2.5)3-13(16) cm, contracted, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches erect or stiffly spreading, secondary branches not divaricate, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

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

5-9(10.8) mm, with 3-7(8) 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 and glabrous, sometimes scabrous and/or pubescent distally;

lower glumes (1.8)2-3.5(4) mm;

upper glumes 3-5(5.5) mm;

lemmas 3.8-5(6.5) mm, lanceolate, usually smooth and glabrous on the lower portion and scabrous or pubescent distally, especially on the margins, rarely entirely pubescent, awns 0.5-2.5(3) mm, usually less than 1/2 as long as the lemma body;

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

anthers (1.8)2.3-3.4 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

= 56.

= 42.