Flora of North America species comparison

15-130 cm, slender to stout, not woody, erect to decumbent, straight to zigzag, simple to profusely branched;

nodes sparsely to densely pilose.

(6)25-100 cm, 0.5-3.5 mm thick, spreading to weakly ascending, usually freely branching;

nodes pilose, hairs spreading to ascending;

internodes pilose, with papillose-based hairs, or sparsely hispid.

rounded, hirsute or hispid, hairs papillose-based;

ligules membranous, ciliate, cilia 0.5-1.5 mm;

blades 5-40 cm long, 3-18 mm wide, linear, spreading.

rounded, glabrous, margins shortly ciliate distally;

ligules 0.6-4 mm, of hairs;

blades (3)6-15 cm long, 1-5 mm wide, spreading, abaxial surfaces sparsely hirsute, adaxial surfaces more densely so, hairs papillose-based, midribs prominent and not white, margins involute, bases cuneate, apices subulate.

13-50 cm long, 7-24 cm wide, usually more than 1/2 as long as the plants, included at the base or exserted at maturity, disarticulating at the base of the peduncles at maturity and becoming a tumbleweed;

branches spreading;

pedicels 0.5-2.8 mm, scabrous, pilose.

1.9-4 mm, ellipsoid to lanceoloid, often red-purple, glabrous.

2.1-2.9 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, glabrous.

1-1.2 mm, to 1/2 as long as the spikelets, attenuate, 5-9-veined, veins anastomosing apically;

upper glumes and lower lemmas similar, extending about 0.5 mm beyond the upper florets, 11-13-veined;

lower florets sterile;

lower paleas 1-1.3 mm;

upper florets 1.5-1.8 mm long, 0.6-0.8 mm wide, smooth.

florets sterile;

lower glumes 1/3– 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 1-3-veined;

upper glumes 1.8-3.1 mm, 7-9-veined, midveins scabridulous;

lower lemmas 1.9-3 mm, extending 0.4-1.1 mm beyond the upper florets, often stiff, straight, prominently veined distally;

upper florets stramineous or nigrescent, sometimes with a prominent lunate scar at the base, often disarticulating before the glumes, leaving the empty glumes and lower lemmas temporarily persisting on the panicles.

panicles 3-35 cm long, about 1/2 as wide, shortly exserted;

axillary panicles smaller, not fully exserted;

rachises scabridulous;

primary branches usually solitary, sometimes paired, divergent and widely spaced, secondary branching mostly on the distal 1/3 of the primary branches;

pedicels 1-4 mm, spreading to appressed, confined to the distal portions of the secondary branches.

= 18.

= 36.