Flora of North America species comparison

1-12 cm, slender.

10-60 cm.

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, smooth;

ligules 1.5-3.5 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous;

blades 1.5-4 mm wide, flat, thin, soft, apices broadly prow-shaped.

all or mainly intra-vaginal.

mixed intra- and 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.

4-15 cm, nodding, open, with numerous spikelets and 1-2 branches per node;

branches (2)3-7 cm, spreading to reflexed, lower branches usually reflexed, flexuous, usually terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, with (3)6-18 spikelets.

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

florets 2-3;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth.

4-6 mm, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, usually partly to wholly purplish, with 3-5 florets;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth.

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.

narrowly to broadly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or nearly so;

lower glumes 1-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses webbed;

lemmas 2-3.5 mm, lanceolate, partly purple to fairly strongly purple, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, keels hairy for 2h-ls their length, lateral veins usually sparsely softly puberulent at least on 1 side, lateral veins obscure to moderately prominent, intercostal regions smooth, minutely bumpy, glabrous, apices acute, slightly bronze-colored or not;

palea keels scabrous, usually softly puberulent at midlength;

anthers 0.6-1 mm.

= 14.

= 28.