Flora of North America species comparison

11-110 cm, erect to decumbent;

nodes shortly hirsute or glabrous.

15-100 cm tall, 0.5-1(2) mm thick, sprawling to erect, without cormlike bases, freely branching and rooting from the lower nodes;

nodes prominent, glabrous or pubescent;

internodes not succulent, pilose.

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 than the internodes, rounded, hairs papillose-based;

collars pilose;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;

blades 2-7 cm long, 5-20 mm wide, 4-6 times longer than wide, lanceolate, thin, flat, sparsely to densely pilose, hairs papillose-based, bases asymmetrically cordate to subcordate, lower margins ciliate, papillose.

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.

4-24 cm, almost as wide as long, diffuse, partially included or exerted;

primary branches to 10 cm, alternate, ascending to reflexed, branching in the distal 2/3;

pedicels 9-20 mm, threadlike.

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

1-1.4 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide, not secund, lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, plano-convex in side view, sparsely pubescent.

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.

0.4-0.8 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 1-3-veined, subacute;

upper glumes 0.8-1.2 mm, arising 0.2 mm above the lower glumes, 3-5-veined;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas 0.1-0.2 mm longer than the upper glumes, 3-5-veined;

lower paleas 0.5-0.8 mm, hyaline;

upper florets 0.8-1.2 mm long, 0.4-0.6 mm wide, finely rugose, lemmas strongly convex.

= 18.