Flora of North America species comparison

1-12 cm, slender.

(15)30-80 cm, erect or the bases decumbent, terete or weakly compressed;

nodes terete, 1-3 exserted.

closed for 1/6 – 1/4 their length, terete;

ligules 1-3 mm, milky white to hyaline, smooth;

blades 0.5-2 mm wide, flat or folded, or slightly inrolled, thin, without papillae (at 100x), apices narrowly prow-shaped.

closed for 1/2 - 9/10 their length, compressed, smooth, glabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths 1-3 times blade lengths;

collars smooth, glabrous;

ligules 0.5-4 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, truncate to obtuse;

innovation blades similar to the cauline blades;

cauline blades 2-5 mm wide, flat, thin, smooth or sparsely scabrous mainly over the veins, apices broadly prow-shaped, middle and upper cauline blades subequal in length, flag leaf blades (2.5)4-7(11) cm long.

all or mainly intra-vaginal.

all or mostly extravaginal.

1-3 cm, erect, contracted, usually exserted from the sheaths;

branches to 1.5 cm, erect to steeply ascending, slender, sulcate or angled, smooth or the angles sparsely scabrous;

pedicels shorter than the spikelets.

(5)12-22 cm, usually narrowly pyramidal, open, sparse, with 20-70 spikelets, proximal internodes usually (3.5)4+ cm, with 2-3(4) branches per node;

branches 3-8 cm, spreading to eventually reflexed, terete or weakly angled, sparsely to moderately scabrous, with 3-12 spikelets.

3-4 mm, laterally compressed, green or anthocyanic;

florets 2-3;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth.

5-9 mm, lengths to 3.5 times widths, laterally compressed, not sexually dimorphic;

florets 2-6;

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous, distal internodes 1+ mm.

usually equaling or exceeding the lowest lemmas, sometimes also equaling or exceeding the upper florets, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth;

lower glumes 3-veined;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 2.5-3 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, thin, usually glabrous, keels and marginal veins rarely sparsely puberulent proximally, apices acute;

palea keels scabrous;

anthers 0.2-0.8 mm.

lanceolate, distinctly keeled;

lower glumes 1-3-veined;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 3-6.5 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins glabrous or short-villous to softly puberulent to 1/3 their length, lateral veins obscure, intercostal regions glabrous or sparsely hispidulous, rarely softly puberulent, smooth or sparsely finely scabrous, margins glabrous, apices acute;

palea keels scabrous, glabrous, intercostal regions glabrous;

anthers vestigial (0.1-0.2 mm) or (1.3)2-3.6 mm.

= 14.

= unknown.