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.

70-140 (160) cm, erect from the base, not conspicuously branched;

internodes mostly glabrous, sometimes puberulent below the nodes.

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.

glabrous or puberulent, sheaths rounded near the base, rarely becoming fibrous at maturity, not becoming spirally coiled when old;

ligules 4-8(10) mm, membranous, firm, strongly decurrent, obtuse;

blades 35-100 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, usually involute, smooth abaxially, scabrous 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.

20-60(70) cm long, 15-30(40) cm wide, longer than wide, diffuse;

primary branches 2-20 cm, capillary, diverging 30-100° from the rachises, naked basally, lower branches with 5-20 spikelets;

pedicels 4-50 mm, longer than the spikelets, capillary, divergent, stiff or flexible.

1.8-2.8 mm, borne singly.

3-5 mm, mostly purplish.

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.

subequal, (0.3)1-2 mm (excluding the awns), less than 1/2 as long as the lemmas, glabrous;

lower glumes 1-veined, awned, awns 0.5-10 mm;

upper glumes 1-veined (rarely 3-veined), acute to acuminate, often erose, awned, awns 2-25 mm;

lemmas 3-5 mm, lanceolate, calluses shortly pubescent, apices acuminate, with 2 setaceous teeth, teeth 1-5 mm, awned from between the teeth, awns 8-35 mm, clearly demarcated from the lemma bodies;

paleas 2-4.5 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, veins usually extending into awns to 2 mm;

anthers 1.5-2 mm, purple.

1-1.4 mm, fusiform, brownish.

2-2.5 mm, narrowly elliptic, brownish.

= 40, 42.

= unknown.