Flora of North America species comparison

30-100 cm;

lower nodes sometimes sparsely bearded.

5-180 cm, erect, mostly glabrous, lower nodes sometimes with hairs.

glabrous, not or obscurely keeled;

ligules to 0.5 mm, membranous, ciliate;

blades 1-4 mm wide, folded or involute, glabrous, apices sharp.

shorter than the internodes, open;

ligules membranous and ciliate or of hairs;

blades 6-25 cm long, 1-8 mm wide, flat or involute, margins not thick and cartilaginous.

8-25 cm long, 0.5-1.3 cm wide, dense;

branches appressed, lowest branches 2-6 cm;

pedicels 1-2 mm.

terminal, usually panicles (sometimes reduced to racemes), 5-40 cm, exceeding the upper leaves, exserted.

4-10 mm, with 4-11 florets.

4-10(13) mm, laterally compressed, with 4-11(16) florets, more than 1 floret bisexual;

sterile florets distal to the fertile spikelets;

disarticulation above the glumes.

about as long as the adjacent lemmas, thin, 1-veined, acute or apiculate;

lower glumes 4-4.5 mm;

upper glumes 4-4.5 mm;

lemmas 3-4(5) mm, thin, papery, mostly white, often purple distally, glabrous or the lateral veins with a few short hairs towards the base, all veins ending before the distal margin;

paleas 3-3.5 mm, glabrous, bowed-out at the base;

anthers 1-1.5 mm.

from shorter than to equaling the distal florets;

lower glumes 1(3)-veined;

lower glumes shorter than or about equal to the upper glumes, 1-3(9)-veined, unawned;

calluses usually glabrous, sometimes pilose;

lemmas hyaline or membranous, 3-veined, veins usually shortly hairy below, apices rounded to truncate, emarginate to bilobed, midvein often excurrent to 0.5 mm, lateral veins not or more shortly excurrent;

paleas glabrous or shortly pubescent on the lower back and margins, veins glabrous or ciliolate;

lodicules 2, free or adnate to the palea;

anthers 3, reddish-purple.

1.5-1.8 mm.

dorsiventrally compressed and reniform in cross section, dark brown;

embryos about 2/5 as long as the caryopses.

= 10.

= 60, 64, 72.