Flora of North America species comparison

(30)50-110 cm, clumped, erect, glabrous or pubescent.

(10)50-80(130) cm, solitary or clumped, erect or decumbent, glabrous, sometimes scabrous or pubescent near the upper nodes.

2-3 per culm;

sheaths scabridulous or pilose;

ligules 1.5-3 mm, truncate, erose to lacerate;

blades (8.5)15-20+ cm long, (3)7-12 mm wide, flat, ascending, lax at maturity, often scabridulous.

usually evenly distributed;

sheaths glabrous or pilose, throats often with 2+ mm hairs;

ligules 0.5-1(2) mm, obtuse, lacerate, sometimes ciliolate, hairs to 0.5 mm;

blades 5-15(18) cm long, 1.5-4(6) mm wide, flat or involute, lax, pubescent or pilose.

10-30 cm long, (1)2-9 cm wide, open, nodding, green or tan, occasionally purple-tinged;

branches 2-12+ cm, most, except sometimes the uppermost, spikelet-bearing only towards the apices, with the basal (1/5)1/3-1/2 bare, filiform, flexuous, at least the lowest 1-3 whorls spreading or drooping.

5-20 cm long, 1.5-7 cm wide, erect or nodding, glistening yellowish brown, sometimes purple-tinged or variegated;

branches 2-4(6) cm, ascending to divergent, often flexuous, sometimes naked below.

6-12 mm, subsessile to pedicellate, pedicels to 2 cm, usually with 2-3 functional florets below 1-2 reduced florets;

rachilla internodes and hairs 1-2.5 mm;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath the florets.

4-8 mm, subsessile or on pedicels to 5 mm, with (2)3(4) florets;

rachilla internodes to 1+ mm;

rachilla hairs to 1.5 mm;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath the florets.

unequal;

lower glumes 0.75-2(3) mm, subulate;

upper glumes 3.5-5 mm long, shorter than the lowest florets, 2-3 times as wide as the lower glumes, widest at or above the middle, ovate or obovate, rounded to the acuminate apices;

callus hairs to 1 mm;

lemmas 5-6 mm, broadly lanceolate, glabrous, bifid, teeth to 1.3 mm, awned, awns (7)9-14 mm, arising from above midlength to just below the teeth, exceeding the lemma apices, arcuate to flexuous;

paleas shorter than the lemmas;

anthers about 1 mm.

unequal, shiny;

lower glumes 2.5-4.7 mm, narrowly lanceolate to subulate;

upper glumes 4-7 mm long, as long as or longer than the lowest florets, twice as wide as the lower glumes, lance-elliptic, acute;

callus hairs to 0.5 mm;

lemmas 3.5-6.3 mm, ovate-lanceolate, minutely pubescent, bifid or bicuspidate, teeth conspicuous, usually 3-6 mm, awned, awns (3)5-9 mm, arising from the upper 1/3 of the lemmas and exceeding the apices, geniculate, tightly twisted below;

paleas 3-5.5 mm;

anthers 1.3-2.8 mm.

2.5-3.2 mm, densely to sparsely pubescent.

2.5-3 mm, glabrous.

= 42.

= 28.