Flora of North America species comparison

10-90 cm, sometimes decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

4-120 cm, erect to decumbent, rooting at the lower nodes, sparingly branched near the base.

glabrous, smooth;

ligules to 5 mm;

blades 2-13 cm long, 1-6 mm wide.

usually no more than 5 per culm, basal and cauline;

sheaths open, smooth or scabridulous;

auricles absent;

ligules membranous or hyaline, acute to broadly rounded, erose, ciliate;

blades flat to convolute.

2-10 cm, ovate-oblong to pyramidal, dense but interrupted, pale green to purplish;

pedicels not developed;

stipes 0.1-0.6 mm.

terminal panicles, dense, continuous or interrupted below;

branches flexible, usually some longer than 1 cm;

pedicels absent and the spikelets borne on a stipe, or present and terminating in a stipe;

stipes scabrous, flaring distally;

disarticulation at the base of the stipes.

1-5 mm, weakly laterally compressed, with 1 bisexual floret;

rachillas not prolonged beyond the base of the floret.

1.5-2 mm, scabrous on the back and keel, apices obtuse or truncate, unawned;

lemmas about 1 mm, erose, unawned;

paleas subequal to the lemmas;

anthers 0.3-0.5 mm.

exceeding the floret, lanceolate, bases not fused, apices entire to emarginate or bilobed, usually awned from the sinuses or apices, awns flexuous, glabrous, sometimes unawned;

lemmas 1-3(5)-veined, often awned, awns usually terminal or subterminal, sometimes arising from just above midlength;

paleas from 1/3 as long as to equaling the lemmas;

lodicules 2, oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate;

anthers 3;

ovaries glabrous;

styles separate.

slightly flattened, broadly ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid;

hila 1/6 – 1/4 as long as the caryopses, ovate, x = 7.

= 28, 42.