Flora of North America species comparison

20-95 cm tall, 0.8-1.5 mm thick.

8-35 cm tall, 0.5-0.9 mm thick, ascending to erect, slender;

nodes terete, 0(1) exserted.

closed for 1/3-2/3 their length;

ligules 0.2-3(4) mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, truncate to obtuse;

blades 1-3.6 (6) mm wide, flat, thin, lax, veins prominent.

closed for 1/5-1/3 their length, terete, smooth, glabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous;

collars smooth or scabrous, glabrous;

ligules 2-4 mm, smooth, apices acute, often lacerate;

innovation blades similar to the cauline blades;

cauline blades 1-2(3) mm wide, flat, thin, soft, smooth, narrowly prow-tipped, blades not strongly graduated or reduced upwards.

mainly pseudointravaginal.

mixed, mainly extravaginal or mainly pseudointravaginal, sometimes intravaginal.

4-20(24) cm long, less than 1/4 the plant height, lax;

nodes with 1-3 branches;

branches ascending to spreading, lax, angled, angles prominent, scabrous.

2-8 cm, slightly lax, usually loosely contracted and sparse, infrequently contracted and dense;

nodes with 1-3(5) branches;

branches 1-3(4) cm, usually ascending or weakly spreading, infrequently erect, fairly straight or flexuous, slender, sulcate or angled, smooth or the angles sparsely scabrous, with 1-8 spikelets.

3-5.6 mm, laterally compressed;

florets 2-5;

rachilla internodes glabrous, usually shorter than 1 mm.

4-6 mm, lengths to 3 times widths, laterally compressed;

florets 2-5;

rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth, glabrous.

2/3 – 3/4 as long as the adjacent lemmas, distinctly keeled;

lower glumes 1(3)-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses webbed;

lemmas 2.4-4 mm, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, usually glabrous, bases of marginal veins rarely sparsely softly puberulent, lateral veins prominent, intercostal regions smooth, minutely bumpy, apices obtuse to sharply acute or acuminate;

palea keels scabrous;

anthers 0.4-1.5 mm.

nearly equaling or slightly longer than the adjacent lemmas, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, thin, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or sparsely scabrous;

lower glumes 1-3-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses glabrous or webbed, hairs usually shorter than 1/4 the lemma length, sparse;

lemmas 3-4.6 mm, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, thin, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, lateral veins glabrous or sparsely softly puberulent, lateral veins obscure, intercostal regions glabrous, margins glabrous, apices acute;

paleas sparsely scabrous over the keels;

anthers (0.6)0.8-1.1(1.3) mm.

= 28, 42, 84.