Flora of North America species comparison

15-80 cm, erect or the bases decumbent, terete or weakly compressed;

nodes terete, 0-1 exserted.

20-100 cm tall, about 2 mm thick, terete or weakly compressed;

nodes terete, 0-1 exserted.

closed for 1/10 – 1/5(1/4) their length, terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, glabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths (1.2)1.5-9(20) times blade lengths;

ligules (1)1.5-4(5) mm, smooth or sparsely to moderately scabrous, apices obtuse to acute;

blades strongly to gradually reduced in length distally, 1.5-5 mm wide, flat and moderately thin to folded and moderately thick and firm, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces smooth or sparsely to moderately scabrous, primarily over the veins, apices narrowly prow-shaped, flag leaf blades (0.4)1-7(10) cm.

closed for 1/6-1/3 their length, sometimes fused by a hyaline membrane to 3/4 their length, terete, bases of some basal sheaths densely retrorsely hairy, hairs 0.1-0.2 mm, thick;

ligules 1-3.5 mm, yellow-cream to brown, truncate, erose, ciliolate;

blades (2)4-11 mm wide, flat, thick, smooth or sparsely scabrous, apices broadly prow-shaped.

intra- and extravaginal.

extravaginal.

(2.5)4-12(18) cm, erect, usually narrowly lanceoloid, contracted, sometimes interrupted, infrequently loosely contracted, usually congested, with 25-100 spikelets;

nodes with 1-5 branches;

branches 1-9 cm, erect to infrequently ascending, rarely spreading, terete to weakly angled, smooth or the angles sparsely to moderately scabrous, with 3-24 spikelets.

8-30 cm, erect, loosely contracted, fairly congested, with 40-100+ spikelets;

branches 3-10 cm, steeply ascending, terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, sometimes with tufts of hair at the nodes, with 5-20 spikelets.

3.2-7 mm, lengths to 3.5(3.8) times widths, laterally compressed;

florets 2-7;

rachilla internodes smooth, sometimes sparsely puberulent.

5-12 mm, laterally compressed;

florets 2-6;

rachilla internodes smooth, infrequently sparsely puberulent.

lanceolate, distinctly keeled, smooth or sparsely scabrous;

lower glumes 3-veined;

calluses usually glabrous, infrequently webbed, hairs to 1/4 the lemma length;

lemmas 2.5-4.5 mm, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, distinctly to weakly keeled, keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, lateral veins moderately prominent, glabrous or puberulent, intercostal regions usually glabrous, infrequently hairy, hairs to 0.3 mm, margins glabrous, apices acute or blunt;

palea keels scabrous, glabrous or short-villous at midlength, intercostal regions usually glabrous, sometimes puberulent to short-villous;

anthers 1.3-2.2 mm.

lanceolate, subequal or the upper glumes to 2 mm longer than the lower glumes, sometimes exceeding the lowest lemmas, distinctly keeled, smooth, often glaucous, acute to acuminate;

lower glumes 4-9.5 mm, 1-3(5)-veined;

upper glumes 5.5-10 mm, (1)3(5)-veined;

calluses of proximal lemmas usually with a crown of hairs, hairs 1-2 mm;

lemmas 4.5-7 mm, lanceolate, 5-7-veined, distinctly keeled, thinly membranous, glabrous or the keels and marginal veins long-villous, intercostal regions glabrous or hispidulous, moderately to densely scabrous, margins usually with hairs to 0.2 mm proximally, apices acute;

palea keels scabrous;

anthers 1.7-3.2 mm.

= 56, 56+1, 56-58, 63, 64, 70, 76, 84, ca. 90, 95+-5, 100, 103.

= 28, 29+-, 42, 62.