Flora of North America species comparison

5-50 cm, erect to ascending, bases sometimes somewhat decumbent;

nodes 2-4(7).

5-90 cm, erect or decumbent at the base.

smooth;

ligules (0.2)0.5-2(2.7) mm, scabridulous, truncate to obtuse, usually erose to lacerate, sometimes entire;

blades 2-15 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, flat or involute;

flag blades at about midculm.

basally concentrated;

sheaths open to the base, smooth, glabrous;

auricles absent;

ligules membranous, scabridulous dorsally, truncate to subacute, entire to lacerate;

blades flat or involute.

1.5-14 cm long, 0.4-2.5 cm wide, narrowly oblong to ovate, somewhat lax, sometimes drooping, lowest nodes with 1-4(5) branches;

branches scabridulous or smooth, loosely ascending to erect, branching in the distal 1/3 – 3/4;

lower branches 0.5-7 cm;

pedicels 0.4-4 mm.

panicles, exserted at maturity, not disarticulating;

branches ascending to erect.

ovate to lanceolate, green to purple;

rachilla prolongations 0.1-0.6 mm, glabrous or bristlelike, with a tuft of short hairs at the apex.

pedicellate, weakly laterally compressed, with 1 floret;

rachillas usually prolonged 0.1-1.9 mm beyond the base of the floret, sometimes absent, especially from the lower spikelets within a panicle, apices glabrous or with hairs, hairs to 0.3 mm;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath the floret.

1.6-2.3 mm, 1-veined, veins smooth or slightly scabrous distally, apices acute;

lower glumes equal to or longer than the upper glumes;

calluses glabrous or with sparse hairs to 0.5 mm;

lemmas 1.5-2.3 mm, relatively thick, smooth, opaque, 5-veined, veins obscure or prominent at the apices, apices truncate to rounded or acute, entire or erose, veins occasionally minutely excurrent to 0.4 mm, usually unawned, rarely awned, awns to about 1.3 mm, usually subapical, sometimes attached near midlength;

paleas 0.9-1.6 mm;

anthers 3, 0.4-0.8 mm.

equal or the lower glumes longer than the upper glumes, flexible, acute to acuminate, sometimes apiculate, unawned;

calluses glabrous or hairy, hairs to 0.5 mm;

lemmas membranous, (3)5-veined, veins mostly obscure, sometimes prominent distally, apices truncate to rounded or acute, unawned or awned, awns to about 1.3 mm, usually subapical, occasionally attached near midlength;

paleas more than 1/2 as long as the lemmas, 2-veined, thinner than the lemmas;

anthers 3.

1-1.3 mm.

shorter than the lemmas, concealed at maturity, x = 7.

= 14.