Flora of North America species comparison

50-300 cm tall, 2-4 mm thick, often compressed, erect or ascending, hard, becoming almost woody;

nodes swollen, glabrous or pubescent;

internodes glabrous, glaucous.

30-75 cm tall, 1-2 mm thick, terete to slightly compressed, erect or ascending, stiff, often bent at the nodes, simple or sparingly branched;

nodes densely pubescent.

not keeled, shorter than or equal to the internodes, glabrous or the lower sheaths at least partially pubescent, hairs papillose-based;

ligules 0.3-1.5 mm;

blades 10-60 cm long, 3-20 mm wide, elongate, flat, abaxial surfaces and margins scabrous, adaxial surfaces occasionally pubescent near the base, with prominent, white midveins, bases rounded to narrowed.

shorter than or equaling the internodes, rounded, hirsute, green or tinged with purple, margins ciliate;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 12-30 cm long, 2-12 mm wide, stiffly erect or ascending, flat, pubescent, sometimes sparsely so, hairs papillose-based, bases truncate, apices attenuate.

10-45 cm, to 1/2 as wide as long, open or somewhat contracted, with many spikelets;

branches 4-12 cm, opposite or alternate, ascending to spreading;

pedicels 0.3-2.5 mm, scabridulous to scabrous, appressed to diverging less than 45° from the branch axes.

terminal, 15-30 cm long, 10-12(26) cm wide, usually shortly exserted, scarcely overtopping the blades;

rachises hispid, sometimes glabrous basally;

primary branches alternate or opposite, divergent, secondary branches divergent, most abundant on the distal 1/3 of the primary branches, with 1-3 spikelets;

pedicels 2-20 mm, confined to the distal 1/3 of the branches;

pulvini poorly developed, shortly pilose.

2.4-3.4 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide, ellipsoid-lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, often purplish, glabrous, acute.

5-6.5 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide, glabrous, long-acuminate.

1.4-2.2 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 3-5-veined, obtuse;

upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal, glabrous, 5-9-veined, margins scarious, acute;

lower florets staminate;

upper florets 1.8-2.8 mm long, 0.9-1.1 mm wide, smooth, lustrous, acute.

2-3 mm, about 1/2 as long as the spikelets, attached about 0.4 mm below the upper glumes, 5-7-veined, acute to obtuse;

upper glumes and lower lemmas 5-6 mm, exceeding the upper florets by 3-4 mm, 9-13-veined;

lower florets sterile;

lower paleas 1.5-2 mm, acute;

upper florets 1.6-2 mm long, 1-1.1 mm wide, smooth, chestnut brown when mature.

= 18, 36.

= 36.