Flora of North America species comparison

10-80 cm, often geniculate at the base, much branched near the base;

internodes mostly scabridulous or smooth, always scabridulous below the nodes.

30-90 cm tall, 0.5-2 mm thick, erect, much branched above the base;

internodes dull, puberulent or glabrous for most of their length, sometimes strigose immediately below the nodes.

often shorter than the internodes, glabrous, smooth or scabridulous;

ligules 1-2 mm, membranous to hyaline, truncate to obtuse;

blades 3-8.5(10) cm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, flat or loosely involute, scabrous abaxially, strigulose adaxially.

smooth or scabridulous, somewhat keeled;

ligules 0.4-1 mm, membranous, truncate, lacerate-ciliolate;

blades 2-20 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat, scabrous or smooth, those of the secondary branches similar in length and width to those of the main branches.

6.5-13.5 cm long, 1-6.5 cm wide, not dense, often purplish;

branches 1.6-4 cm, ascending or diverging up to 80° from the rachises, spikelet-bearing to the base;

pedicels 2-6 mm, appressed to divaricate, antrorsely scabrous;

disarticulation above the glumes.

terminal and axillary, 2-21 cm long, 0.3-3 cm wide, dense;

primary branches 0.3-5.5 cm, appressed or diverging up to 30° from rachises;

pedicels to 2 mm, strigose;

axillary panicles exserted on long peduncles.

2.5-5.5 mm, borne singly.

1.5-3.8 mm, often purple-tinged.

0.4-1.3 mm, exceeded by the florets, 1-veined, obtuse, often minutely erose;

lower glumes 0.4-1 mm;

upper glumes 0.6-1.3 mm;

lemmas 2.5-3.8(5.3) mm, narrowly lanceolate, mostly smooth, scabridulous distally, hairy on the calluses, lower 1/2 of the margins, and midveins, hairs 0.2-0.5 mm, apices acuminate, awned, awns 10-30 mm, straight to flexuous;

paleas 2.2-4.8 mm, narrowly lanceolate, acuminate;

anthers 0.3-1.2 mm, purplish.

subequal, 1.5-3.7 mm, equaling or slightly shorter than the lemmas, 1-veined, tapering from the bases to the acuminate apices, unawned or awned, awns to 2 mm;

lemmas 1.5-3.8 mm, lanceolate, pubescent on the calluses, lower portion of the mid-veins, and margins, hairs shorter than 0.7 mm, apices scabridulous, acuminate, unawned or awned, awns to 10 mm;

paleas 1.5-3.8 mm, narrowly lanceolate, apices acuminate;

anthers 0.3-0.5 mm, yellow to purplish.

1.7-2.5 mm, fusiform, reddish-brown.

1.1-1.6 mm, fusiform, brown.

panicles with 1-3 spikelets present in the axils of the lower leaves.

= 20, 40, 60.

= 40.