Flora of North America species comparison

5-30 cm tall, 0.4-1 mm thick, decumbent, geniculate, or erect;

internodes usually nodulose (occasionally smooth) for most of their length, puberulent or nodulose below the nodes.

16-50 cm, decumbent, rooting at the lower nodes;

nodes retrorsely pilose;

internodes smooth or scabridulous.

shorter or longer than the internodes, glabrous;

ligules 0.8-3 mm, membranous, acute to truncate, erose;

blades 0.4-6.5 cm long, 0.5-4.2 mm wide, flat or involute, straight or arcuate-spreading, glabrous abaxially, hirtellous adaxially.

1.5-8.5 cm, sparsely or densely pilose, hairs to 3 mm, papillose-based;

ligules 0.5-0.8 mm, membranous, truncate, erose;

blades 2-6 cm long, 1.5-4 mm wide, flat, bases distinctly narrowed to the junction with the sheath, surfaces scabridulous and sparsely pilose, hairs papillose-based.

1-15 cm long, 0.1-1.7 cm wide, exserted, narrow or spikelike, rachises usually concealed by the branches;

primary branches 0.4-5 cm, usually closely appressed at maturity, rarely diverging up to 20° from the rachises;

pedicels 0.2-2 mm, setulose.

6-10.5 cm long, 2.0-4.5 cm wide, secund, open;

primary branches 0.8-3.5 cm, secund, spreading at right angles or somewhat reflexed, with 2-5 spikelets;

secondary branches not developed;

pedicels 1-5 mm, scabrous or shortly pilose, hairs papillose-based;

disarticulation at the base of the primary branches.

1.7-3.1 mm, occasionally with 2 florets.

4-8 mm, dimorphic with respect to the glumes, proximal spikelets on each branch almost sessile.

subequal, 0.6-2 mm, 1/3– 1/2 as long as the lemmas, green, 1(2)-veined, acute, sometimes mucronate, mucros less than 0.2 mm;

lemmas 1.7-2.6(3.1) mm, lanceolate, dark greenish, plumbeous, or mottled, glabrous, apices scabridulous, acute to acuminate, sometimes mucronate, mucros to 0.5 mm;

paleas 1.2-2.4(2.9) mm, lanceolate, acute;

anthers 0.9-1.6 mm, yellow to purplish.

of proximal spikelets on each branch subequal, 0.2-0.7 mm, orbicular, truncate, often erose, unawned;

glumes of distal spikelets on each branch markedly unequal;

lower glumes to 8 mm, 1-veined, acute, usually awned, awns 0.5-3 mm;

upper glumes orbicular, acute, sometimes awn-tipped;

lemmas 4.0-7.6 mm, linear to broadly lanceolate, light greenish, smooth or scabrous, usually with greenish veins, apices acuminate, awned, awns 6-19 mm, usually straight, scabrous;

paleas 3.7-6.8 mm, narrowly lanceolate, coarsely papillate or almost smooth, acuminate;

anthers 0.4-0.8 mm, yellowish.

0.9-1.6 mm, narrowly ellipsoid, brown.

1.8-3 mm, oblong-ovoid, flattened, brownish.

= 40.

= 20.