Flora of North America species comparison

50-100 cm, glabrous, somewhat glaucous;

nodes usually exposed.

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

closed for less than 1/3 their length, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, shredding into fibers;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 2-10 mm wide, flat, loosely conduplicate, or involute, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, glabrous or puberulent, adaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, veins 13-35, ribs obscure;

sclerenchyma in abaxial and adaxial strands;

girders formed at most major veins.

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.

(8)10-30(40) cm, open, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches lax, spreading, spikelets borne towards the ends of branches.

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

branches spreading and lax.

6-11 mm, sometimes glaucous, with (2)3-5 florets.

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

lanceolate, smooth or scabrous, acuminate;

lower glumes 4-7 mm;

upper glumes 5-7.5 mm;

lemmas 5-8 mm, chartaceous, lanceolate, glabrous, usually smooth, sometimes scabrous towards the apices, apices acute to acuminate, unawned, sometimes mucronate;

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

anthers 2-3 mm;

ovary apices densely pubescent.

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.

= unknown.

= 56.