Flora of North America species comparison

11-110 cm, erect to decumbent;

nodes shortly hirsute or glabrous.

30-150 cm tall, 2-4 mm thick, erect or spreading from a geniculate, non-cormous base, not succulent, glabrous throughout.

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.

shorter or longer than the internodes, rounded, often with minute purple streaks, glabrous, margins shortly ciliate;

ligules to 0.8 mm;

blades 5-28 cm long, 4-14 mm wide, linear, more than 10 times longer than wide, thin, flat, glabrous on both surfaces or sparingly pilose adaxially, bases scabridulous near the margins, prominently veined.

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.

12-30 cm long, 9-20 cm wide, usually 1-1.3 times longer than wide, diffuse;

primary branches 8-15 cm, alternate, divergent, slender, scabridulous, much branched, branches confined to the distal 2/3, secondary branches spreading, spikelets confined to the distal 1/2 of the branches;

pedicels 0.5-6 mm.

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

1.8-2.7 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, ellipsoid, dark green, often purple-tinged, usually glabrous, acute to acuminate.

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.

1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, glabrous, deltoid, acute;

upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal, equaling or exceeding the upper florets, smooth, faintly 5-veined, sparsely pilose with short hairs near the margins and apices, acute;

lower florets sterile;

lower paleas absent or much shorter than the lower lemmas;

upper florets 1.5-1.8 mm, ellipsoid, smooth, lustrous, grayish-brown at maturity, apices sparsely puberulent, obtuse to subacute.

= 36.