Flora of North America species comparison

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

internodes glabrous, shiny below the nodes.

100-300 cm tall, 3-6 mm thick, erect or ascending, woody below, branching at the middle and upper nodes, branches numerous, fascicled, and spreading;

internodes glabrous for most of their length, puberulent or glaucous below the nodes.

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.

glabrous, enlarged and flattened basally, somewhat chartaceous;

ligules 0.2-0.6 mm, membranous, truncate;

blades of the branch leaves 1.2-8(12) cm long, 0.7-2.2 mm wide, flat or involute, glabrous abaxially, hirtellous adaxially;

blades of the cauline leaves, particularly the lower cauline leaves, absent or greatly reduced.

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.

numerous, terminal on the main culms and the branches, 1-4 cm long, 0.3-1.4 cm wide, lax, inconspicuous;

primary panicle branches appressed or loosely spreading up to 40° from the rachises;

pedicels 0.1-1.5 mm.

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

2.2-3.1 mm, green or purplish.

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.

subequal, 1-1.7 mm, glabrous, 1-veined, acute to acuminate, occasionally mucronate, mucros to 0.5 mm;

lemmas 2.3-3.1 mm, lanceolate, appressed-pubescent on the calluses and lower portion of the margins, apices acuminate, awned, awns 1-5 mm, flexuous;

paleas 2.3-3.1 mm, narrowly lanceolate, appressed-pubescent basally, acuminate;

anthers 1.5-2 mm, purplish.

0.8-1 mm, fusiform, brownish.

1.2-1.6 mm, fusiform, reddish-brown.

= 20, 22, 28.

= 40.