Flora of North America species comparison

50-200 cm tall, 0.4-2 cm thick;

nodes appressed pubescent;

internodes glabrous.

50-500+ cm;

internodes solid.

not aromatic, basal and cauline;

auricles absent;

ligules membranous and ciliate or of hairs;

blades usually flat.

10-50 cm long, 5-25 cm wide, primary branches compound, terminating in rames of 1-5 spikelet pairs;

disarticulation usually beneath the sessile spikelets, sometimes also beneath the pedicellate spikelets.

terminal, panicles with evident rachises;

primary branches whorled, compound, the ultimate units rames;

rames with most spikelets in heterogamous sessile-pedicellate spikelet pairs, terminal spikelet unit on each rame usually a triplet of 1 sessile and 2 pedicellate spikelets, rame axes without a translucent median line;

disarticulation in the rames below the sessile spikelets, sometimes also below the pedicellate spikelets (cultivated taxa not or only tardily disarticulating).

not exposed at maturity.

1.8-3.3 mm.

slender, neither appressed nor fused to the rame axes.

2-6 mm, membranous, conspicuously ciliate;

blades 10-90 cm long, 8-40 mm wide.

spikelets bisexual, 3.8-6.5 mm long, 1.5-2.3 mm wide;

calluses blunt;

glumes indurate, shiny, appressed pubescent;

upper lemmas unawned, or with a geniculate, twisted awn to 13 mm;

anthers 1.9-2.7 mm.

spikelets dorsally compressed, calluses blunt or pointed;

lower glumes dorsally compressed and rounded basally, 2-keeled or winged distally, 5-15-veined, usually unawned;

upper glumes 2-keeled, sometimes awned;

lower florets reduced to hyaline lemmas;

upper florets pistillate or bisexual, lemmas hyaline, sometimes awned.

spikelets staminate, 3.6-5.6 mm;

glumes membranous to coriaceous, unawned.

spikelets staminate or sterile, well-developed, often subequal to the sessile spikelets in size, x = 10.

= 20, 40;

several dysploid counts also reported.