Flora of North America species comparison

10-75 cm, about 1 mm thick, simple or with erect basal branches;

nodes densely pilose, hairs ascending;

internodes glabrous or shortly pubescent distally.

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.

longer than the internodes, green to purplish, hispid, margins sparsely ciliate;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm;

blades 3-32 cm long, 1-7 mm wide, ascending to erect, linear, narrowing basally, flat or the margins involute, surfaces sparsely hirsute or pilose (rarely glabrous), hairs near the base papillose-based, margins prominent, apices acute.

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.

5-45 cm long, 1-6 cm wide, at least 1/2 as long as the plants and 3 times longer than wide, open;

rachises glabrous;

primary branches usually alternate or subopposite, ascending to slightly divergent, secondary branches and pedicels attached to the distal 2/3;

secondary branches diverging;

pedicels 0.5-17 mm, ascending to appressed.

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.

2.5 - 3.7 mm long, 0.6-1.1 mm wide, narrowly ovoid, glabrous, acute;

lower glumes 0.8-1.3 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, acuminate;

upper glumes 2.3-3.3 mm, 7-9-veined, exceeding the upper florets by about 0.6 mm;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas 2.2-2.7 mm, exceeding the upper florets by about 0.6 mm, 7- or 9-veined, apices scabridulous, pointed;

lower paleas absent;

upper florets 1.6-1.7 mm long, about 0.6 mm wide, usually smooth, usually pale, sometimes becoming dark at maturity.

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

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.

= 18.

= 18, 36.