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.

15-100 cm tall, 0.5-1(2) mm thick, sprawling to erect, without cormlike bases, freely branching and rooting from the lower nodes;

nodes prominent, glabrous or pubescent;

internodes not succulent, pilose.

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 than the internodes, rounded, hairs papillose-based;

collars pilose;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;

blades 2-7 cm long, 5-20 mm wide, 4-6 times longer than wide, lanceolate, thin, flat, sparsely to densely pilose, hairs papillose-based, bases asymmetrically cordate to subcordate, lower margins ciliate, papillose.

(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.

4-24 cm, almost as wide as long, diffuse, partially included or exerted;

primary branches to 10 cm, alternate, ascending to reflexed, branching in the distal 2/3;

pedicels 9-20 mm, threadlike.

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

1-1.4 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide, not secund, lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, plano-convex in side view, sparsely pubescent.

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.

0.4-0.8 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 1-3-veined, subacute;

upper glumes 0.8-1.2 mm, arising 0.2 mm above the lower glumes, 3-5-veined;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas 0.1-0.2 mm longer than the upper glumes, 3-5-veined;

lower paleas 0.5-0.8 mm, hyaline;

upper florets 0.8-1.2 mm long, 0.4-0.6 mm wide, finely rugose, lemmas strongly convex.

= 36.

= 18.