Flora of North America species comparison

15-60 cm, erect or spreading, bases bulbous.

8-35 cm tall, 0.5-0.9 mm thick, ascending to erect, slender;

nodes terete, 0(1) exserted.

closed for about 1/4 their length, terete, lowest sheaths with swollen bases;

ligules 1-3 mm, smooth or scabrous, apices obtuse to acute;

blades 1-2.5 mm wide, flat, thin, lax, soon withering.

closed for 1/5-1/3 their length, terete, smooth, glabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous;

collars smooth or scabrous, glabrous;

ligules 2-4 mm, smooth, apices acute, often lacerate;

innovation blades similar to the cauline blades;

cauline blades 1-2(3) mm wide, flat, thin, soft, smooth, narrowly prow-tipped, blades not strongly graduated or reduced upwards.

intravaginal.

mixed, mainly extravaginal or mainly pseudointravaginal, sometimes intravaginal.

3-12 cm, ovoid;

nodes with 2-5 branches;

branches ascending to spreading, terete, usually smooth or sparsely scabrous, infrequently moderately scabrous.

2-8 cm, slightly lax, usually loosely contracted and sparse, infrequently contracted and dense;

nodes with 1-3(5) branches;

branches 1-3(4) cm, usually ascending or weakly spreading, infrequently erect, fairly straight or flexuous, slender, sulcate or angled, smooth or the angles sparsely scabrous, with 1-8 spikelets.

3-5 mm, laterally compressed, usually bulbiferous;

florets 3-7, the basal floret, and sometimes additional florets, normal;

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous.

4-6 mm, lengths to 3 times widths, laterally compressed;

florets 2-5;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth, glabrous.

keeled, keels scabrous;

lower glumes 3-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses webbed or glabrous;

lemmas 3-4 mm, lanceolate, keeled, glabrous or the keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, intercostal regions glabrous or softly puberulent, apices acute;

paleas scabrous, keels often softly puberulent at midlength;

anthers 1.2-1.5 mm and functional, sometimes aborted late in development, sometimes not developed.

nearly equaling or slightly longer than the adjacent lemmas, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, thin, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or sparsely scabrous;

lower glumes 1-3-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses glabrous or webbed, hairs usually shorter than 1/4 the lemma length, sparse;

lemmas 3-4.6 mm, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, thin, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, lateral veins glabrous or sparsely softly puberulent, lateral veins obscure, intercostal regions glabrous, margins glabrous, apices acute;

paleas sparsely scabrous over the keels;

anthers (0.6)0.8-1.1(1.3) mm.

= 14, 21, 28, 39, 42, 45.

= 28, 42, 84.