Flora of North America species comparison

40-110 cm tall, 1-2 mm thick, erect;

internodes puberulent for most of their length, strigose below the nodes.

20-70 cm, erect or decumbent;

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

glabrous and smooth for most of their length, scabridulous distally, margins hyaline;

ligules 1-2.5 mm, membranous, truncate, lacerate-ciliolate;

blades 5-18 cm long, 3-7 mm wide, flat, scabrous to scabridulous, occasionally smooth.

usually shorter than the internodes, glabrous, smooth or scabridulous, usually without necrotic spots, not becoming spirally coiled when old;

ligules 1.2-3(5) mm, membranous throughout, acute, often lacerate;

blades 2-13 cm long, 1.2-2.5 mm wide, flat or loosely involute, scabridulous or glabrous abaxially, scabrous adaxially, usually without necrotic spots.

terminal and axillary, 6-21 cm long, 0.2-1 cm wide, narrow, not dense;

axillary panicles usually exserted at maturity;

branches 0.8-6 cm, ascending to closely appressed;

pedicels 0.8-3.5 mm, strigose.

numerous, terminal and axillary, 7-20 cm long, 0.3-1.4(3) cm wide, contracted, often lax, nodding, interrupted below;

primary branches 3.5-7.5 cm, ascending or diverging up to 70° from the rachises, spikelet-bearing to the base;

pedicels 1-3 mm, antrorsely scabrous;

disarticulation above the glumes.

2.2-3.7 mm.

2-4 mm, often purplish, borne singly.

subequal, 1.8-3 mm, nearly as long as the lemmas, 1-veined, tapering from near the base, apices scabridulous, acuminate, unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;

lemmas 2.2-3.7 mm, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, hairy on the calluses, lower 1/2 of the midveins, and margins, hairs 0.2-0.5 mm, apices scabridulous, acuminate, awned, awns 5-18 mm, purplish;

paleas 2-3.5 mm, lanceolate, proximal 1/2 shortly pilose, apices scabridulous, acuminate;

anthers 0.4-0.8 mm, yellow.

1.2-2.8 mm, shorter than the florets, 1-veined, veins scabrous, apices often erose, unawned or awned, awns to 0.5 mm;

lower glumes 1.2-2 mm, acute to acuminate;

upper glumes 1.5-2.8 mm, acute;

lemmas 2-3.5(4) mm, lanceolate, mostly smooth, scabridulous distally, pubescent on the calluses, lower 1/2 of the midveins, and margins, hairs 0.5-1.5 mm, apices acuminate to acute, awned, awns 10-30 mm, scabrous, sinuous to flexuous;

paleas 1.8-3.4(3.8) mm, lanceolate, sparsely villous basally, apices acuminate to acute;

anthers 0.9-1.5 mm, yellowish.

1.4-2 mm, fusiform, brown.

1-2.2 mm, narrowly fusiform, brownish.

panicles not present.

= 40.

= 20, 40.