Flora of North America species comparison

to 5 m long, long-decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, vertical portion 90-200(300) cm;

nodes villous.

5-500 cm, herbaceous, erect, geniculate, or decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

open;

auricles rarely present;

ligules apparently of hairs, the basal membranous portion inconspicuous;

blades ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, flat.

10-25 cm long, 5-10 cm wide, pyramidal, with 10-30 spikelike branches in more than 2 ranks;

primary branches 2.5-8 cm long, 0.4-0.9 mm wide, ascending to divergent, axils pubescent, axes flat, glabrous or with a few papillose-based hairs, secondary branches present or absent;

pedicels shorter than the spikelets, scabrous, sometimes with hairs.

terminal or terminal and axillary, usually panicles of spikelike primary branches in 2 or more ranks, rachises not concealed by the spikelets;

primary branches usually alternate or subopposite, spikelike, and 1-sided, less frequently verticillate, axes flat or triquetrous, usually terminating in a well-developed, rudimentary spikelet;

secondary branches present or absent, axes flat or triquetrous;

disarticulation beneath the spikelets.

2.6-3.5 mm long, 1-1.4 mm wide, mostly in pairs, in 2-4 rows, appressed to the branches, purplish to green.

solitary, paired, or in triplets, subsessile or pedicellate, divergent or appressed, ovoid to ellipsoid, dorsally compressed, in 1-2(4) rows, with 2 florets, lower or upper glumes adjacent to the branch axes.

scarcely separate, rachilla internodes short not pronounced;

lower glumes 0.6-1.1 mm, 1/5 – 1/3 as long as the spikelets, glabrous, 0-1(3)-veined;

upper glumes 2.6-3.5 mm, glabrous, 5-(7)-veined, without cross venation;

lower florets staminate;

lower lemmas 2.6-3.3 mm, glabrous, 5-veined, without cross venation;

upper lemmas 2.3-2.8 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide, apices rounded, mucronate;

anthers 1-1.5 mm.

not saccate basally;

lower glumes usually 1/5 – 2/3 as long as the spikelets, occasionally equaling the upper florets, (0)1-11-veined;

upper glumes 5-13-veined;

lower florets sterile or staminate;

lower lemmas similar to the upper glumes, 5-9-veined;

lower paleas if present, usually hyaline, 2-veined;

upper florets bisexual, sessile, ovoid to ellipsoid, usually plano-convex, usually glabrous, not disarticulating, mucronate or acuminate;

upper lemmas indurate, transversely rugose and verrucose, 5-veined, margins involute, apices round to mucronate, or aristate;

upper palea rugose, shiny or lustrous;

lodicules 2, cuneate, truncate;

anthers 3.

1.8-2 mm.

ovoid to elliptic, dorsally compressed;

embryos 1/2 - 3/4 as long as the caryopses;

hila punctate to linear, x = 7, 8, 9, or 10.

sheaths with papillose-based hairs, these more dense distally, margins ciliate;

collars pubescent;

ligules 1-1.5 mm;

blades 7.5-35 cm long, 4-20 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely pilose on both surfaces, margins scabrous.

= 18, 36.