Flora of North America species comparison

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

(5)10-40 (60) cm, erect or spreading, mostly glabrous, pilose below the 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.

basally concentrated;

sheaths scabridulous or pilose;

ligules 1-2.5 mm, truncate;

blades 3-12 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, flat, folded, or involute distally when dry, ascending, glabrous or pubescent, margins frequently sparsely ciliate.

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.

2-15 cm long, 0.3-1.5 cm wide, often interrupted, at least in the lower 1/3, green or tan;

branches short, usually erect to appressed, the spikelets crowded.

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.

3-6 mm, often in pairs with 1 subsessile and 1 pedicellate, with 2-3 florets;

disarticulation initially above the glumes, subsequently below;

rachilla internodes usually 0.8-1 mm;

rachilla hairs usually about 0.5 mm.

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.

subequal, 4-5 mm, about as long as the lowest lemmas, smooth or sparsely scabridulous;

lower glumes 0.5-1 mm wide, lanceolate or elliptical, 3-veined, acuminate, sometimes apiculate;

upper glumes about twice as wide as the lower glumes, elliptical or oblanceolate, acuminate;

callus hairs 0.1-0.2(0.5) mm, sparse;

lemmas 3-4.5 mm, usually glabrous, sometimes minutely pustulate-scabridulous, apices bifid, teeth to 1.7 mm, awned, awns usually 4-8 mm, arising from midlength to just below the teeth and exceeding the lemma apices, geniculate, twisted basally, rarely 2-4 mm, straight, arcuate, or flexuous;

paleas usually 2/3 as long as the lemmas, hyaline;

anthers about 0.2 mm.

2.5-3.2 mm, densely to sparsely pubescent.

2-3 mm, longitudinally striate, sometimes with a few hairs distally.

= 42.

= 14.