Flora of North America species comparison

50-100 cm, glabrous, somewhat glaucous;

nodes usually exposed.

30-60 cm.

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 3/4 their length, glabrous or scabrous-pubescent, shredding into fibers, bases red-scarious;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.5-1 mm long;

vegetative shoot blades to about 2 mm wide when flat, 0.5-1 mm in diameter when loosely conduplicate, deep green, abaxial surfaces more or less uniformly scabrous, adaxial surfaces hispid or pilose on the ribs;

abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-9 small strands;

adaxial sclerenchyma absent;

cauline blades 1.4-2.5 mm wide, flat.

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

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

(4)7-12(15) cm, open, lax, secund or partially secund, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches somewhat stiff or lax, lower branches with 2-5 spikelets.

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

pseudoviviparous, varying in length with the stage of vegetative proliferation, most florets replaced by bracts, the glumes and sometimes the lowest floret more or less normally developed or only slightly elongated, mostly deep green or reddish tinged.

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.

more or less normally developed, lanceolate, apices scabrous;

lower glumes (2.5)3.5-6 mm;

upper glumes 4.5-6.5(8) mm;

lemmas and bracts glabrous or pubescent, smooth or scabrous, sometimes mucronate, mucros to 0.5 mm;

paleas, if present, about as long as or shorter than the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally;

anthers not developed or abortive, to 2 mm;

ovaries not developed.

= unknown.

= ca. 70.