Flora of North America species comparison

10-120 cm, clumped, erect, usually glabrous, sometimes villous, sometimes scabridulous.

(20)40-80(100) cm, erect, smooth or scabridulous.

mostly basal or evenly distributed;

sheaths variously pubescent or glabrous;

ligules 0.5-4 mm, truncate or rounded;

blades (3)10-20(40) cm long, 1-5 mm wide, flat, folded, or involute, erect and stiff or ascending and lax.

concentrated below midlength on the culms;

sheaths glabrous or pilose;

ligules 1.5-3.5 mm, rounded or truncate;

blades 10-20+ cm long, 2-9 mm wide, flat, lax.

(5)20-30(50) cm long, (0.5)1-2.5(5) cm wide, spikelike to open, often interrupted basally, green, purplish, or tawny, usually silvery-shiny;

branches with the spikelets evenly distributed.

8-20 cm long, usually 2-4 cm wide, lax, nodding, silvery-green or tan;

lower branches to 5 cm, ascending, naked below, the spikelets imbricate distally.

5-7.5 mm, sessile, subsessile, or on pedicels to 1.5(3.5) mm, with 2(3) florets;

rachilla internodes 0.5-1.5 mm;

rachilla hairs to 1 mm.

5-7(9) mm, pedicellate, lance-ovate, with 2(4) florets;

rachilla internodes and hairs 1.3-2 mm.

subequal to unequal, lanceolate, usually smooth, sometimes sparsely scabrous, sometimes pilose, with wide scarious margins, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes apiculate;

lower glumes 3-4(5.5) mm;

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

callus hairs to 1 mm;

lemmas 3-6(7) mm, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, glabrous or pilose, sometimes scabridulous, apices bifid, teeth usually shorter than 1 mm, awned, awns 3-8 mm, arising from the upper 1/3 of the lemmas and exceeding the apices, geniculate, twisted basally;

anthers 0.7-1.4 mm.

unequal, widest at or below the middle;

lower glumes 4-5.5 mm;

upper glumes 5-7 mm long, nearly as long as the florets, wider than the lower glumes;

callus hairs 1.5-2 mm;

lemmas 5-6 mm, smooth or scabridulous, apices usually minutely bifid, sometimes entire, unawned or awned.

1.5-3(4) mm, glabrous.

about 3 mm, sparsely pubescent distally.

to 2 mm, arising just below and rarely exceeding the apices;

paleas shorter than the lemmas;

anthers 0.6-0.8 mm.

= 14, 28, 42.

= 14.