Flora of North America species comparison

50-100 cm, glabrous, somewhat glaucous;

nodes usually exposed.

2.5-10 (14) cm, up to twice as tall as the vegetative shoot leaves, usually geniculate to prostrate, erect at anthesis, glabrous, smooth.

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 about 1/2 their length, smooth or slightly scabrous, persistent;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades (0.5)0.8-1.1 mm in diameter, conduplicate, usually straight, veins 5-7, ribs 3-5, abaxial surfaces smooth or sparsely scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-7(9) narrow strands, usually less than twice as wide as high;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent.

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

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

1.5-3.5 cm, often racemes, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches erect, lower branches with 1-2(3+) spikelets.

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

4.5-8.5 mm, with (2)3-6 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.

exceeded by the upper florets, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, mostly glabrous and smooth, sometimes scabrous distally;

lower glumes 1.8-3.5 mm;

upper glumes 2.9—4.3 mm;

lemmas 3.6-5.2 mm, scabrous distally, apices entire, awns 1.1-2.9 mm, usually terminal, sometimes slightly subterminal;

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

anthers 0.6-1.1 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

leaf sheaths somewhat inflated;

flag leaf blades (0.3)0.5-2 cm.

= unknown.

= 28.