Flora of North America species comparison

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

20-50(60) 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, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent distally, persistent;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades (0.3) 0.5-0.8(1.2) mm in diameter, conduplicate, veins 5-7, ribs (1)3-5, abaxial surfaces glabrous or pubescent, not pilose, adaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 3 broad strands, sometimes with additional narrow strands between the midrib and margins;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

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

branches spreading and lax.

(3)5-10 cm, panicles, contracted, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches erect or somewhat spreading, at least at anthesis, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

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

(4.8)5.5-6.5(8.5) mm, with 3-5(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 or sometimes scabrous on the upper midvein;

lower glumes 2-3 mm;

upper glumes (2.3)2.5-4(4.3) mm;

lemmas (3.2)3.5-4.5(5.3) mm, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, smooth throughout or scabrous distally, awns (0.5)1-2 mm, terminal;

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

anthers 2.2-2.6 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

= 56.

= 14.