Flora of North America species comparison

3-6 m tall, 2-5 cm thick, clumped, glabrous throughout or nearly so, lower internodes swollen.

0.8-6 m, erect.

sometimes ciliate at the collar margins;

auricles present;

ligules 2-3 mm;

blades 70-150 cm long, 20-60 mm wide, usually glabrous, occasionally with hairs on the adaxial surfaces.

cauline, not aromatic;

sheaths usually glabrous, sometimes ciliate at the throats;

ligules membranous, ciliate;

blades flat, lax, smooth, usually glabrous.

terminal, large, often plumose, fully exserted panicles with evident rachises and numerous, ascending to appressed branches terminating in multiple rames, branches alternate, sometimes naked below;

rames with numerous sessile-pedicellate spikelet pairs and a terminal triad of 1 sessile and 2 pedicellate spikelets, internodes slender, without a translucent median groove;

disarticulation beneath the pedicellate spikelets and in the rames beneath the sessile spikelets, sessile spikelets falling with the adjacent internode and pedicel.

20-80 cm, glabrous;

panicles 50-100 cm long, to 20 cm wide, lanceolate;

rachises 30-80 cm, glabrous;

primary branches 10-25 cm, appressed to spreading;

rame internodes 3-6 mm, glabrous.

pairs homogamous and homomorphic, or almost so, not embedded in the rame axes, dorsally compressed.

2-5 mm, glabrous.

neither appressed nor fused to the rame axes.

spikelets 3-5 mm long, 0.8-0.9 mm wide, white to gray.

spikelets: calluses truncate, usually with silky hairs;

glumes subequal, chartaceous to coriaceous, glabrous or villous, 2-keeled, veins not raised;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas hyaline or membranous;

lower paleas absent or vestigial, entire;

upper florets bisexual;

upper lemmas entire or bidentate, muticous or awned;

lodicules 2, truncate;

anthers 2 or 3.

hairs 6-10 mm, exceeding the spikelets, white;

lower glumes glabrous, 2-4-veined;

upper glumes 3-veined;

lower lemmas 3-4.5 mm, 2-3-veined;

upper lemmas without veins, entire;

awns absent;

lodicule veins not extending into hairlike projections;

anthers 3.

spikelets similar to the sessile spikelets.

spikelets well developed, from slightly shorter than to equaling the sessile spikelets.

= 10.

= 80.