Flora of North America species comparison

(10)50-140 cm, stout, stiffly erect, branched from the middle and lower nodes;

lower nodes sericeous;

lower internodes sericeous, hairs papillose-based, upper internodes sometimes glabrous.

30-150 cm tall, 2-4 mm thick, erect or spreading from a geniculate, non-cormous base, not succulent, glabrous throughout.

rounded, glabrous or sparsely to densely hispid, hairs not fragile and prickly, not causing skin irritation, margins ciliate;

ligules 1-3 mm;

blades 3-60 cm long, 2-12 mm wide, flat or involute, ascending, adaxial surfaces densely hirsute basally, less densely so elsewhere, bases attenuate, apices acute.

shorter or longer than the internodes, rounded, often with minute purple streaks, glabrous, margins shortly ciliate;

ligules to 0.8 mm;

blades 5-28 cm long, 4-14 mm wide, linear, more than 10 times longer than wide, thin, flat, glabrous on both surfaces or sparingly pilose adaxially, bases scabridulous near the margins, prominently veined.

(4)15-40 cm long, (3)10-25 cm wide, about 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the plants, open, breaking at the base of the peduncles at maturity and dispersed as tumbleweeds, secondary branching mostly confined to the distal 1/3 of the primary branches;

rachises densely hispid or glabrous;

lower primary branches in whorls of 4-7, stiffly spreading, naked on the lower 1/2;

pedicels 3-20 mm, appressed.

12-30 cm long, 9-20 cm wide, usually 1-1.3 times longer than wide, diffuse;

primary branches 8-15 cm, alternate, divergent, slender, scabridulous, much branched, branches confined to the distal 2/3, secondary branches spreading, spikelets confined to the distal 1/2 of the branches;

pedicels 0.5-6 mm.

2-3 mm long, 0.8-1.2 mm wide, glabrous.

1.8-2.7 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, ellipsoid, dark green, often purple-tinged, usually glabrous, acute to acuminate.

1-1.6 mm, 5-veined, acuminate;

upper glumes and lower lemmas similar, 2-2.8 mm, 7-9-veined, exceeding the upper florets by about 0.3 mm;

lower florets sterile;

lower paleas 1.4-2.2 mm;

upper florets 1.5-1.9 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, smooth, chestnut brown at maturity.

1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, glabrous, deltoid, acute;

upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal, equaling or exceeding the upper florets, smooth, faintly 5-veined, sparsely pilose with short hairs near the margins and apices, acute;

lower florets sterile;

lower paleas absent or much shorter than the lower lemmas;

upper florets 1.5-1.8 mm, ellipsoid, smooth, lustrous, grayish-brown at maturity, apices sparsely puberulent, obtuse to subacute.

= 36.

= 36.