Flora of North America species comparison

50-100 cm, glabrous, somewhat glaucous;

nodes usually exposed.

(15)20-75 (80) cm, smooth, glabrous or with sparse hairs.

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, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent, persistent;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.1-0.5 mm;

blades (0.5)0.8-1.2 mm in diameter, usually conduplicate, rarely flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous, puberulent, or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous or puberulent to pubescent, veins 5-7(9), ribs 3-7, usually distinct;

abaxial sclerenchyma usually in an irregular, interrupted or continuous band, rarely in 5-7 small strands, usually more 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.

(2.5)3-13(16) cm, contracted, with 1-2 branches per node;

branches erect or stiffly spreading, secondary branches not divaricate, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.

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

5-9(10.8) mm, with 3-7(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.

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

lower glumes (1.8)2-3.5(4) mm;

upper glumes 3-5(5.5) mm;

lemmas 3.8-5(6.5) mm, lanceolate, usually smooth and glabrous on the lower portion and scabrous or pubescent distally, especially on the margins, rarely entirely pubescent, awns 0.5-2.5(3) mm, usually less than 1/2 as long as the lemma body;

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

anthers (1.8)2.3-3.4 mm;

ovary apices glabrous.

= unknown.

= 42.