Flora of North America species comparison

11-110 cm, erect to decumbent;

nodes shortly hirsute or glabrous.

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.

shorter than the internodes, greenish to purplish, glabrous or with papillose-based hairs, ciliate on 1 margin, glabrous on the other;

collars hirsute;

ligules 1.5-3.5 mm, of hairs;

blades 3-30 cm long, 3-30 mm wide, flat, usually hirsute or sparsely pubescent, hairs papillose-based, sometimes glabrous, bases rounded to cordate-clasping, margins ciliate, cilia papillose-based, 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.

9-30 cm long, 5-8 cm wide, erect or nodding, partially included to well-exserted, rachises glabrous or sparsely hispid basally;

primary branches usually alternate to opposite, divergent, secondary branches and pedicels confined to the distal 2/3;

pulvini inconspicuous;

secondary branches appressed;

pedicels 9-27 mm, 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.

1.9-4 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, ovoid to almost spherical, often reddish-brown, glabrous, veins prominent, scabridulous, apices abruptly acuminate.

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

1.3-2.4 mm, 1/2 - 3/4 as long as the spikelets, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 1.8-3.3 mm, 7-11-veined;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas similar to the upper glumes, 9-veined;

lower paleas 0.4-0.9 mm;

upper florets 1.5-2.4 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide, ellipsoid, smooth or conspicuously papillate, shiny, stramineous, often with a lunate scar at the base.

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, 36.