Flora of North America species comparison

(8)10-120 (130) cm, erect or decumbent, glabrous and smooth.

(11)13.5-25(28) cm, smooth and glabrous throughout or sparsely to densely scabrous or puberulent below the inflorescence.

closed for about 3/4 their length when young, readily splitting with age, usually pubescent, at least distally, hairs retrorse or antrorse, sometimes glabrous, not persistent, older vegetative shoot sheaths shredding into fibers;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades usually conduplicate or convolute and 0.3-2.5 mm in diameter, sometimes flat and 1.5-7 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous or pubescent, veins 5-9(13), ribs (3)5-7(9), usually conspicuous;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-9(13) discrete or partly confluent strands, rarely forming a complete band;

adaxial sclerenchyma sometimes present in fascicles opposite the veins;

girders and pillars not developed.

closed for about 1/2 their length, glabrous or scabrous, stramineous or brownish, persistent or slowly shredding into fibers;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades 0.5-1 mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, veins 5-7, ribs 3-5, 1 distinct and 2-4 indistinct;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 3-7 small strands, covering less than 1/2 the abaxial surface and usually less than twice as wide as high.

(2)3.5-25(30) cm, usually open or loosely contracted panicles, occasionally racemes, with 1-3 branches per node, lower branches with 2+ spikelets;

branches erect or spreading, stiff or lax, glabrous, scabrous, or pubescent.

(1)3-4.8 cm, contracted, usually panicles, sometimes racemes, erect, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches erect, lower branches with (1)2+ spikelets.

(6)7-17 mm, with 3-10 florets.

pseudoviviparous, their length varying with the stage of vegetative proliferation, the glumes and often 1 or 2 adjacent florets more or less normally developed, or only slightly elongated, the distal florets replaced by bracts.

ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, exceeded by the distal florets;

lower glumes (1.5)2-6(7) mm;

upper glumes (3)3.5-8.5 mm;

lemmas 4-9.5 mm, usually glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous towards the apices, sometimes densely pubescent throughout, attenuate or acuminate in side view, awned, awns (0.1)0.4-4.5 mm;

paleas slightly shorter than to about equaling the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally;

anthers 1.8-4.5 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

lanceolate, glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous towards the apices, or puberulent throughout or only towards the apices;

lower glumes (2)3-6 mm;

upper glumes (2.7)3-7 mm;

normal lemmas 3.3-6 mm, mostly smooth or scabrous distally, glabrous or puberulent, awned or unawned, sometimes varying within a panicle, awns to 1 mm;

vegetative bracts unawned, leaflike, sometimes with ligules;

paleas usually reduced or absent, well-formed paleas about as long as the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally;

anthers usually not developed, well-formed anthers to about 2 mm;

ovaries sometimes not developed;

ovary apices, when present, glabrous.

= 28, 42, 56, 70.

= 49, 56.