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.

50-200 cm tall, 2-3(5) mm thick, with cormlike bases, slightly compressed, erect or geniculate at the lower nodes;

nodes glabrous or pilose;

internodes slightly compressed, glabrous.

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.

longer or shorter than the internodes, keeled, glabrous or pilose, hairs papillose-based near the throat;

ligules 0.5-2 mm, membranous, dissected ciliate;

blades (6)20-65 cm long, 2-15 mm wide, flat, adaxial surfaces glabrous or densely pubescent, particularly basally, occasionally pubescent on both surfaces, hairs papillose-based, bases subcordate to rounded.

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.

9-50 cm long, 1.5-12 cm wide, open;

branches opposite and alternate, straight or flexible, strongly ascending to reflexed;

pedicels 0.5-5 mm, scabridulous, divergent.

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.

2.8-4.2(5.4) mm long, 1-2 mm wide, ellipsoid or lanceoloid, often purplish, glabrous, acute or obtuse.

1.2-3.5 mm, 1/2 - 4/5 as long as the spikelets, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes often longer than the lower lemmas, glabrous, 5-7-veined;

lower florets sterile or staminate;

lower lemmas glabrous;

lower paleas 3-4 mm, sometimes longer than the lower lemmas;

upper florets 3-4 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, equaling or surpassing the lower lemmas, dull, pale, finely transversely rugose, lemma apices puberulent.

= 18.

= 36, 54, 70, 72.