Flora of North America species comparison

5-40 cm, erect to geniculate;

nodes usually pubescent.

to 100(150) cm, usually erect;

nodes glabrous.

with stripes of hairs;

ligules 0.3-0.8 mm;

auricles usually absent, shorter than 2 mm if present;

blades to 9 cm long, to 4 mm wide, both surfaces sparsely to densely hairy, hairs spreading.

2.5-6.2 cm long, 4-6 mm wide, often partially enclosed at maturity, pale green.

5-10 cm long, 0.8-2 cm wide, green to purplish or blackish;

nodes 10-30, with 3 spikelets per node, 0-2 lateral spikelets, in addition to the central spikelets, forming seed at maturity (resulting in 2-, 4-, and 6-rowed barley);

rachises usually not disarticulating at maturity.

straight, usually slightly divergent at maturity.

spikelets: glumes to 17 mm long, to 0.8 mm wide basally, distinctly flattened near the base;

lemmas 4.5-7.5 mm, usually sparsely pubescent towards the base, glabrous distally, awned, awns 5.6-9.8 mm, often slightly divergent at maturity;

anthers 0.6-1.2 mm.

spikelets sessile;

glumes 10-30 mm, pubescent, flattened near the base;

lemmas 6-12 mm long, 3+ mm wide, glabrous, sometimes scabrous, particularly distally, unawned or awned, awns 30-180 mm, usually scabrous;

anthers 6-10 mm, yellowish.

spikelets usually sterile;

glumes to 17.5 mm, distinctly flattened near the base;

lemmas 1.7-4.4 mm, blunt to acute, usually unawned, rarely awned, awns to 1.2 mm.

spikelets usually sessile if seed-forming, pedicellate if sterile;

pedicels to 3 mm;

lemmas usually 6-15 mm, awned when fertile, obtuse to acute when sterile.

sheaths pilose;

upper sheaths glabrous;

auricles to 6 mm, well developed even on the upper leaves;

blades to 30 cm long, 5-15 mm wide, flat, scabrous or glabrous.

= 14.

= 14 (28).