Flora of North America species comparison

20-70 cm, erect or decumbent;

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

7-30 cm tall, 0.5-1 mm thick, erect to decumbent;

internodes mostly smooth to slightly nodulose, minutely pubescent or glabrous below the nodes.

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.

shorter or longer than the internodes, glabrous;

ligules 0.2-0.8 mm, membranous, truncate;

blades 0.5-4.7 cm long, 0.2-1.8 mm wide, usually involute, sometimes flat, often at right angles to the culm, glabrous abaxially, hirtellous adaxially.

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.

1-5 cm long, 0.1-0.4 cm wide, contracted, usually partially included in the upper sheaths, rachises usually visible between the branches;

primary branches 0.2-1.2 cm, usually closely appressed at maturity, rarely diverging up to 30° from the rachises;

pedicels 0.1-1.1 mm, glabrous.

2-4 mm, often purplish, borne singly.

1.4-2.4 mm.

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.

subequal, 0.5-1.4 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the lemmas, yellowish to light green, glabrous, 1(2-3)-veined, acute, unawned;

lemmas 1.3-2.4 mm, lanceolate, green or purplish, glabrous or the calluses and margins appressed-pubescent, hairs shorter than 0.3 mm, apices acute, unawned;

paleas 1-2 mm, lanceolate, glabrous, acute;

anthers 0.7-1.4 mm, yellow to purplish.

1-2.2 mm, narrowly fusiform, brownish.

0.7-1.2 mm, ellipsoid to ovoid, brown.

panicles not present.

= 20, 40.

= 20.