Flora of North America species comparison

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

4-20(30) cm, to 18 cm in bulbiferous plants, slender.

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 1/10 – 1/6 their length, terete;

ligules 1-4 mm, smooth;

blades 0.5-1.5(2) mm wide, flat or folded, thin, soft, apices narrowly prow-shaped.

intravaginal.

all or mainly intravaginal.

3-12 cm, ovoid;

nodes with 2-5 branches;

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

2-7 cm, 2-4 cm in bulbiferous plants, widths equal to lengths, erect, broadly rhomboidal to pyramidal, open, exserted from the sheaths, sparse;

branches 1.5-5 cm, ascending to spreading, divaricate, slender, sulcate or angled, angles sparsely to moderately scabrous;

pedicels often longer than the spikelets.

3-5 mm, laterally compressed, usually bulbiferous;

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

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous.

3-5 mm, laterally compressed, rarely bulbiferous, usually strongly anthocyanic, glaucous or not;

florets 2-4, rarely bulb-forming;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth to scabrous.

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.

distinctly keeled;

lower glumes subequal to equaling the lowest lemmas, 3-veined, upper glumes frequently longer than the lowest lemmas;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 2-3 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, thin, keels and marginal veins crisply puberulent, rarely glabrous, intercostal regions glabrous, apices acute;

paleas scabrous over the keels;

anthers 0.2-0.7 mm.

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

= 14.