Flora of North America species comparison

50-300 cm, erect, branching;

nodes glabrous.

3-800 cm, not woody, sometimes branching above the base;

internodes solid or hollow.

glabrous or pubescent, with or without ciliate margins;

ligules 2-5 mm;

blades 15-100 cm long, 7-70 mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent.

terminal, 4-200 cm long, 2-70 mm wide, fully exerted from the sheaths, erect;

rachises terete, densely pubescent.

spicate panicles with highly reduced branches termed fascicles;

panicles 1-many per plant, terminal on the culms or on both the culms and the secondary branches, or terminal and axillary, or only axillary, usually completely exposed at maturity;

rachises usually terete, with (1)5-many fascicles;

fascicle axes 0.2-7.5(28) mm, with (1)3-130+ bristles and 1-12 spikelets.

3-7 mm;

pedicels 0.6-1.8 mm;

lower glumes absent or to 1.5 mm, veinless;

upper glumes 0.5-3.5 mm, 3-5-veined;

lower florets staminate or sterile;

lower lemmas 1.5-6 mm, glabrous, 3-7-veined, margins ciliate;

lower paleas vestigial or fully developed, margins ciliate;

anthers 2.2-2.5 mm, penicillate;

upper florets coriaceous, shiny;

upper lemmas 4.3-7 mm, 5-7(9)-veined, margins ciliate;

upper paleas 3.4-3.9 mm, pubescent, at least near the base, margins ciliate;

anthers 2-2.2 mm, penicillate.

with 2 florets;

lower glumes absent or present, 0-5-veined;

upper glumes longer, 0-11-veined;

lower florets sterile or staminate;

lower lemmas usually as long as the spikelets, membranous, 3-15-veined, margins usually glabrous;

lower paleas present or absent;

upper lemmas membranous to coriaceous, 5-12-veined;

upper paleas shorter than the lemmas but similar in texture;

lodicules 0 or 2, glabrous;

anthers 3, if present, x = 5,7, 8,9 (usually 9).

2-5.5 mm long, 1.6-3.2 mm wide, protruding from the lemma and palea at maturity.

33-160 per cm;

fascicle axes 1-28 mm, persistent, with 1-9 spikelets;

outer bristles 44-131, 0.5-6 mm;

inner bristles 6-19, 4-6 mm, plumose;

primary bristles 5.5-6.3, ciliate, sometimes noticeably longer than the other bristles.

membranous and ciliate, or of hairs, rarely completely membranous;

blades sometimes pseudopetiolate.

free or fused at the base, disarticulating with the spikelets at maturity; of 3 kinds, outer, inner, and primary, in some species with all 3 kinds present below each spikelet, in others 1 or more kinds missing from some or all of the spikelets;

outer (lower) bristles antrorsely scabrous, terete;

inner (upper) bristles antrorsely scabrous or long-ciliate, usually flatter and wider than the outer bristles;

primary (terminal) bristles located immediately below the spikelets, solitary, antrorsely scabrous or long-ciliate, often longer than the other bristles associated with the spikelet;

disarticulation usually at the base of the fascicles, sometimes also beneath the upper florets.

= 14.