Flora of North America species comparison

10-60 cm.

20-60 cm, slender, erect or the bases decumbent, terete or weakly compressed;

nodes terete, 1-2 exserted.

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.

closed from 9/10 their length to their entire length, terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, glabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths 0.18-0.8 times blade lengths;

collars smooth, glabrous;

ligules 3-6 mm, scabrous, acute to acuminate;

innovation blades similar to the cauline blades;

cauline blades gradually reduced in length distally, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, flat, thin, soft, smooth or sparsely scabrous, primarily over the veins, apices narrowly to broadly prow-shaped, flag leaf blades 8-12 cm.

mixed intra- and extravaginal.

extravaginal, initiated as pinkish to purplish fleshy buds that persist as sets of short scales at the nodes of rhizomes and the proximal culm nodes, drying brownish and flabelliform after the shoots develop.

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.

4-15 cm, erect, ovoid, sparse, with fewer than 15(20) spikelets;

nodes with 1-2 branches;

branches 1-4.5 cm, spreading to reflexed, slender, terete, sparsely to moderately scabrous, with 1-3 spikelets.

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

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, sparsely hairy, hairs to 0.3 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.

1/3 – 3/4(4/5) as long as the adjacent lemmas, keels sparsely scabrous;

lower glumes 3-veined;

calluses glabrous or webbed, hairs at least 1-2 mm;

lemmas 4-7 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins glabrous or short-villous, lateral veins obscure, glabrous, finely scabrous, intercostal regions glabrous or sparsely softly puberulent, margins glabrous, apices acute;

palea keels scabrous, sometimes softly puberulent at midlength;

anthers vestigial (0.1-0.2 mm) or 2-4 mm.

= 28.

= ca. 58.