Flora of North America species comparison

30-60 cm, bases orange-brown;

nodes 3-6;

basal branching intravaginal.

15-85 cm, glabrous, bases dull gray-brown;

nodes 2-6;

basal branching mostly extravaginal, lower nodes sometimes with intravaginal branches.

mostly glabrous, throats densely ciliate, basal sheaths reddish brown, flat and ribbonlike with age;

ligules varying within a plant, lower ligules 0.3-1 mm, densely hairy and ciliate, hairs 0.2-1 mm, often longer than the basal membrane, upper ligules to 2.5 mm, hyaline to scarious, glabrous or hairy, usually less hairy than the lower ligules, sometimes ciliate;

blades 10-30 cm long, 0.5-2 mm wide when flat, usually rolled, to 1 mm in diameter, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth, adaxial surfaces pilose.

glabrous, basal sheaths dull gray-brown;

ligules 0.1-0.2 mm, truncate, abaxial surfaces puberulent, ciliolate to ciliate, hairs longest (1.5-4 mm) towards the sides of the leaves, at the top of the sheaths;

blades 1-9(25) cm long, those of the innovations the longest, 1-1.5 mm wide and flat or conduplicate, or to 0.5 mm in diameter and convolute, straight to almost falcate, abaxial surfaces of the innovation leaves glabrous or pubescent, adaxial surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes slightly scabrous.

10-15 cm, dense, frequently partially included in the upper leaf sheaths at maturity;

branches ascending.

3-20 cm, ovoid, lax, partially included in the upper leaf sheaths;

branches ascending to divergent;

pedicels 1-1.5 mm.

16-24 mm.

5-8 mm.

linear-lanceolate, glabrous, tapering from below midlength to the narrowly acute apices;

lower glumes 16-24 mm, 1-veined;

upper glumes 13-19 mm, 3-5-veined;

florets (6)8-10 mm;

calluses 0.8-1.6(3) mm, sharp;

lemmas densely and evenly hairy, hairs about 0.5 mm, without a pappus;

awns 35-45(80) mm, once-geniculate, first segment pilose, hairs 3-8 mm, terminal segment glabrous, smooth;

paleas 3.2-5.1 mm, 2/5 – 2/3 (4/5) the length of the lemmas, usually hairy, hairs about 0.5 mm.

from shorter than to subequal to the florets, linear-lanceolate, hyaline, smooth, ecostate or with 1 inconspicuous vein, apices attenuate;

lower glumes 2.5-5 mm;

upper glumes 4.5-6.5 mm;

florets (4)5-7.5 mm;

calluses 1-1.5 mm, strigose, hairs white;

lemmas about 0.3 mm thick, mostly scabrous, strigose over the midvein, tapering to the apices, pappus hairs 5-8 mm;

awns 15-30 mm, scabrous, weakly geniculate;

paleas 1-2.5 mm, from 1/3 - 1/2 the length of the lemmas, hyaline, glabrous, weakly 2-veined;

lodicules 2, 0.8-1 mm, linear.

4-5 mm, narrowly lanceoloid.

= 66, 68, about 74.

= 40.