Flora of North America species comparison

1-12 cm, slender.

(12)17-30(40) cm, erect or the bases decumbent, with (0)1(2) exserted nodes.

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, bases of basal sheaths glabrous;

collars smooth, glabrous;

ligules of cauline leaves 1-2 mm, smooth, apices truncate to obtuse, ligules of the innovation leaves shorter than 0.5 mm, scabrous, truncate;

innovation blades not or indistinctly differentiated from the cauline blades, flat or weakly involute, adaxial surfaces sparsely to fairly densely finely scabrous between the veins;

cauline blades 1-3 mm wide, folded, fairly thin to moderately thick, soft, abaxial surfaces smooth, apices narrowly prow-shaped.

all or mainly intra-vaginal.

intra-vaginal.

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.

2-5(6) cm, erect or nodding, ovoid to pyramidal, slightly contracted or open, sparse, with fewer than 20 spikelets;

nodes with 1-2 branches;

branches 2-4 cm, ascending to widely spreading, occasionally reflexed, flexuous, lax, slender, terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, with 1-3(4) spikelets.

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

florets 2-3;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth.

4-7 mm, lengths to 3 times widths, broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, laterally compressed, not sexually dimorphic, often strongly anthocyanic;

florets 3-4;

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous or sparsely 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.

thin, somewhat lustrous, distinctly keeled, keels smooth;

lower glumes 3-veined, distinctly shorter than the lowest lemmas;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 4-6 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, thinly membranous, sparsely to moderately densely and finely scabrous, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely softly puberulent proximally, lateral veins moderately prominent, margins glabrous, apices acute;

palea keels sparsely to moderately densely scabrous;

anthers vestigial (0.1-0.2 mm) or 2.5-3 mm.

= 14.

= unknown.