Flora of North America species comparison

45-125 cm tall, 1.8-3 mm thick, solitary or few together.

115-350 cm tall, 6-10 mm thick, usually several to many together.

exceeded by the spikes, often basally concentrated;

sheaths glabrous or hairy, hairs 0.5-1 mm;

auricles to 1 mm;

ligules 0.2-1.3 mm, truncate, erose;

blades 10-35 cm long, 3.5-10 mm wide, flat to involute, usually stiffly ascending, adaxial surfaces usually scabrous, often also sparsely hairy, hairs to 0.8 mm, most abundant proximally, veins 11-27, closely spaced, subequal, prominently ribbed.

exceeded by the inflorescences;

auricles absent;

ligules 0.7-6 mm on the basal leaves, 4-7.5 mm on the flag leaves;

blades 10-28 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, veins numerous, subequal or unequal.

panicles, 17-44 cm long, 20-60 mm wide, lower nodes with 2-6 branches, branches to 8 cm, ascending, with 5-35 spikelets, upper nodes with pedicellate and sessile spikelets;

internodes 3.5-10 mm, glabrous.

5-20 cm long, 5-15 mm wide, with 2 spikelets at midspike, sometimes 1 or 3 at other nodes;

internodes 5-11.5 mm, usually mostly smooth and glabrous, sometimes strigillose distally, edges ciliate, cilia to 0.4 mm.

10-22 mm, with 3-7 florets.

9-25 mm, usually pedicellate, pedicels 0.8-2 mm, with 3-7 florets.

5-16 mm long, 0.5-1.2 mm wide, bases not overlapping, glabrous and smooth proximally, scabrous distally, tapering from below midlength to the subulate apices, stiff, keeled, the central portion thicker than the margins, 1(3)-veined, veins inconspicuous at midlength;

calluses usually glabrous, occasionally with a few hairs, hairs about 0.1 mm;

lemmas 5-12 mm, usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely hairy, hairs to 0.3 mm, apices acute, usually awned, awns to 3 mm;

anthers 3-6 mm, dehiscent.

6-16 mm long, 0.5-2.5 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, stiff, keeled, the central portion thicker than the margins, glabrous, smooth proximally, scabrous distally, 0-1(3)-veined, veins inconspicuous at midlength, apices tapering almost imperceptibly into an awn, awns subequal to the glume body;

lemmas 7-14 mm, usually glabrous, apices acute, sometimes awned, awns to 4 mm;

anthers 3.5-7 mm, dehiscent.

= 28.

= 28, 56.