Flora of North America species comparison

10-45(70) cm, geniculate, often rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous or puberulent below the nodes;

internodes often smooth, shiny, glabrous.

25-100 cm tall, 0.5-1.5 mm thick, erect, geniculate, wiry, freely branched, branches stiff, geniculate, widely divergent;

internodes scabridulous throughout.

shorter than the internodes, glabrous for most of their length, margins shortly (0.3-1.2 mm) pubescent distally, not becoming spirally coiled when old;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, truncate, erose, ciliate;

blades (1)3-10 cm long, 1-4.5 mm wide, flat, smooth or scabridulous.

shorter than the internodes, glabrous;

ligules 1-2.5(4) mm, truncate, lacerate, with lateral lobes;

blades 2-8 cm long, 0.5-2 mm wide, flat or folded, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially.

3-15 cm long, 1-1.6 cm wide, contracted, often interrupted below;

branches 0.4-5.5 cm, appressed or diverging up to 30° from the rachises, spikelet-bearing to the base;

pedicels 0.1-4 mm, scabrous to hirsute;

disarticulation above the glumes.

4-14 cm long, 6-15 cm wide, open, not dense, usually purple;

primary branches 1-7.5 cm, diverging 30-90° from the rachises, stiff, naked basally;

pedicels 2-13(20) mm, scabrous.

1.8-2.8 mm, borne singly.

3-4.5 mm.

unequal, shorter than the florets, thin and membranous throughout, unawned;

lower glumes lacking or rudimentary, veinless, rounded and often erose;

upper glumes 0.1-0.3 mm, veinless;

lemmas 1.8-2.8 mm, oblong-elliptic, mostly scabrous, calluses hairy, hairs to 0.8 mm, veins greenish, lower 1/4 of the midveins with a few appressed hairs, apices acute to acuminate, awned, awns 1.5-5 mm, straight;

paleas 1.8-2.8 mm, oblong-elliptic, acute to acuminate;

anthers 0.2-0.5 mm, yellow.

2-3 mm, shorter than the lemmas, 1-veined, veins scabrous, apices gradually acute to acuminate, occasionally mucronate, mucros to 0.4 mm;

lemmas 3-4.5 mm, lanceolate, purplish, appressed-pubescent on the lower 1/2 - 3/4 of the margins and midveins, apices acuminate, awned, awns 2-13 mm, straight;

paleas 3-4.5 mm, lanceolate, acuminate;

anthers 1.5-2.3 mm, purple to yellow.

1-1.4 mm, fusiform, brownish.

2-2.4 mm, oblong, compressed, yellowish-brown.

= 40, 42.

= 20, 23, 24, 40.