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.

10-100 cm, 2-10 mm thick, erect, simple or sparingly branched basally;

nodes sericeous, pilose or glabrous;

internodes usually 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.

often crowded basally;

sheaths rounded, glabrous or hirsute, hairs fragile, papillose-based, margins sometimes ciliate distally;

ligules 0.6-2 mm;

blades 4-23 cm long, 1-10 mm wide, erect to spreading, flat or sometimes involute (on sterile branches), often curling at maturity, glaucous, abaxial surfaces sometimes with prominent papillae along the midribs, bases rounded or narrowing to the sheaths, margins cartilaginous, ciliate basally, scabridulous elsewhere, apices acute.

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.

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.

2.1-4.2 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, usually ovoid, glabrous.

1.2-2.4 mm, 1/2 - 3/4 as long as the spikelets, attenuate;

upper glumes and lower lemmas similar, 7-11-veined, acuminate, extending 0.3-1.2 mm beyond the upper florets;

lower florets sterile;

lower paleas 0.8-2 mm;

upper florets 1.5-2.4 mm long, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, ovoid to ellipsoid, smooth, nigrescent.

panicles 7-31 cm long, 3-15 cm wide;

rachises glabrous, tending to break at maturity;

branches usually alternate, slender, stiff, ascending to divergent;

pedicels 1-15 mm, appressed.

= 18.

= 18.