Flora of North America species comparison

10-60(100) cm, decumbent-ascending, bases somewhat compressed-keeled;

internodes glabrous, shiny below the nodes.

3-20 cm.

glabrous, margins hyaline;

ligules 0.2-1 mm, firm, truncate, ciliate, without lateral lobes;

blades 2-7(11) cm long, 1-2.8(4) mm wide, flat, occasionally conduplicate, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, margins and midveins not conspicuously thickened, greenish, apices acute, not sharp.

often longer than the internodes, somewhat inflated, smooth or scabrous;

ligules 1-3 mm, membranous, acute, lacerate, sometimes with lateral lobes;

blades 1-4.5 cm long, 0.8-2 mm wide, flat to involute, scabrous to strigose, midveins and margins thickened, whitish.

6-21 cm long, 4-16 cm wide, broadly ovoid, open;

primary branches 3-12 cm, capillary, lower branches spreading 30-90° from the rachises, never appearing fascicled;

pedicels 3-14 mm, longer than the spikelets.

3-11.5 cm long, 0.8-1.8 cm wide, contracted;

primary branches 1-3.7 cm, closely appressed, spikelets usually in subsessile-pedicellate pairs;

pedicels 0.2-8 mm, stout, closely appressed, scabrous;

disarticulation beneath the spikelet pairs.

1.2-2.1 mm, occasionally with 2 or 3 florets.

2.5-6 mm.

equal, 0.6-1.7 mm, purplish, scabridulous, particularly on the veins, 1-veined, apices acute;

lemmas 1.2-2.1 mm, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, somewhat plumbeous, glabrous, usually smooth, occasionally scabridulous near the apices, apices acute, unawned or mucronate, mucros to 0.3 mm;

paleas 1.2-2.1 mm, lanceolate, glabrous, acute;

anthers 1-1.3 mm, greenish-yellow to purplish at maturity.

to 2/3 as long as the lemmas;

lower glumes 2-3.5 mm, subulate, 2-veined, minutely to deeply bifid, with 2 aristate teeth or awns to 1.8 mm;

upper glumes 2.4-4 mm, entire, acuminate to attenuate, 1-veined, awned, awns to 2 mm;

lemmas 3.5-6 mm, narrowly lanceolate, light greenish-brown to purplish, scabrous, appressed-pubescent on the margins and mid-veins, apices acuminate, often bifid, awned, awns usually 10-20 mm, stiff;

paleas 4-6 mm, narrowly lanceolate, intercostal region appressed-pubescent, apices acuminate;

anthers 0.5-0.9 mm, purplish to yellowish.

0.8-1 mm, fusiform, brownish.

2-2.8 mm, narrowly fusiform, brownish.

= 20, 22, 28.

= 20.