Flora of North America species comparison

1-12 cm, slender.

20-55 cm, erect or the bases decumbent, terete or weakly compressed;

nodes terete, 0-1 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 1/3-2/3 their length, terete, sparsely to moderately scabrous, glabrous or retrorsely hispidulous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths 2.7-6.5(9.7) times blade lengths;

collars of at least some leaves usually sparsely hispidulous;

ligules 1-2 mm, scabrous, truncate to obtuse;

innovation blades to 40 cm, adaxial surfaces moderately to densely scabrous or hispidulous on and between the veins;

cauline blades steeply reduced in length distally, 1-3 mm wide, involute, moderately thick, soft, abaxial surfaces smooth, margins scabrous, apices narrowly prow-shaped, flag leaf blades 1-4.5 cm long.

all or mainly intra-vaginal.

extra- and intravaginal.

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.

4-8 cm, erect to nodding, lanceoloid to ovoid, loosely contracted, sparse, with 18-60 spikelets;

nodes with 1-2 branches;

branches 3-8 cm, ascending, lax, terete or weakly angled, moderately and sometimes coarsely scabrous, with 3-8 spikelets.

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

florets 2-3;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth.

6-9(11) mm, lengths to 3 times widths, laterally compressed, not sexually dimorphic;

florets 2-5(7);

rachilla internodes 1-2 mm, glabrous, scabrous, or sparsely to densely puberulent.

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.

subequal, distinctly keeled;

lower glumes 3-veined;

calluses diffusely webbed, hairs about 1/2 the lemma length;

lemmas 4-6(7) mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, glabrous, smooth or sparsely to moderately finely scabrous, keels scabrous, lateral veins moderately prominent, margins glabrous, apices acute;

palea keels scabrous, sometimes softly puberulent at midlength;

anthers vestigial (0.1-0.2 mm) or 2-3 mm.

= 14.

= 28.