1. inflorescence pyramidal

2. sparsely hairy at collar

3. blades involute

4. bleached, large woody base

5. large roots, size of wooden pencil lead

Eragrosteae

Sporobolus airoides   

alkali sacaton

1. erect stems often has thick, scaly horizontal rhizomes

2. inflorescence usually has two (sometimes 3) spike-like branches, paired at the tip of the stem, one slightly below the other

Paniceae

Paspalum notatum

bahiagrass

1. 5 to 12 cm long panicle usually is erect

2. racemes usually spread with maturity

3. spikelets may have long awns with each floret covered with short spines

Paniceae

Echinochloa crus-galli

barnyardgrass

1. stems growing from numerous scaly rhizomes

2. sheaths are slightly hairy

3. long leaves that are hairy on the upper part near the base

4. spikelets slightly curved and resembling a beak

Paniceae

Panicum anceps

beaked panicum

1. scaly rhizomes or strong flat stolons

2. culms flattened

3. ligule a conspicuous ring of white hairs

4. blades pilose on upper surface

5. spikelets sessile and in 2 rows on one side of rachis

6. one floret per spikelet

Cynodonteae

Cynodon dactylon

bermudagrass

1. subdigitate inflor., terminal (2-5), "turkey foot"

2. sometimes with short rhizomes, lower blades and sheaths sometimes villous long, soft hairs

3. square collar

Andropogoneae

Andropogon gerardii

big bluestem

1. bunchgrass has smooth stout stems growing from a decumbent base

2. inflorescence is 5 to 15 cm long

3. each spikelet is a one-flowered bur with the bristle united at the base

Paniceae

Cenchrus myosuroides

big cenchrus

1. swollen base, wooly pubescence at base

2. internodes pubescent

3. stoloniferous

Cynodonteae

Bouteloua eriopoda

black grama

1. rachis (stinger) not projecting beyond spikelets

2. leaves basal few hairs at junction of blade and sheath

3. seeds grow on one side on rachis, looks like rooster comb

Cynodonteae

Bouteloua gracilis

blue grama

1. coarse stems growing from a dense crown of thick, short, bulbous rhizomes

2. stem has large nodes and internodes

3. branches coming from the nodes

4. spikelets are greenish-yellow, very slick and shiny in appearance and are borne on the tip and of rather long seed branches

Paniceae

Panicum antidotale

blue panicum

1. flat base usually yellow

2. inflated tawny spathe, partly, enclosing inflorescence

3. blades pilose on upper surface

4. reproductive shoot compressed emerging from flattened base

Andropogoneae

Andropogon virginicus

broomsedge bluestem

1. bunchgrass has purplish, compressed culms and sheaths

2. spikelets are gray green, turning dark brown and shiny when ripe

3. resembles dallisgrass, but blades are narrower, racemes are shorter and fruit is not covered with silky hairs

Paniceae

Paspalum plicatulum

brownseed paspalum

1. blade sparsely pilose (soft straight hairs)

2. glabrous nodes

3. dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants)

4. stoloniferous

5. pistillate (female) inflor. usually shorter than leaves-bur

6. staminate (male) inflor. exceeds leaves-flag

Cynodonteae

Buchloe dactyloides

buffalograss

1. bur type spikelet

2. purplish colored bristles, white bristly when immature

Paniceae

Pennisetum ciliare

buffelgrass

1. wiry stolons with internodes 5-15 cm long

2. leaves basal and flat, 1-2 mm wide, sharp-pointed (yucca-like) and twisted

3. staminate awn 5-10 mm

4. pistillate awn 1-5 cm, flat, twisted

5. lemma 3-awned

Eragrosteae

Scleropogon brevifolius

burrograss

1. wiry geniculate stems - branching at nodes - short, thread-like awn

2. knotty base

3. short internodes, zigzag stem

4. ligule l to 2 mm long

Eragrosteae

Muhlenbergia porteri

bush muhly

1. base knotty, swollen, pubescent

2. white to purple hairs exceed spikelet

Paniceae

Digitaria californica

California cottontop

1. spike nodding or drooping

2. spikelets in 3's or 4's, slightly spreading

3. glumes narrow

4. awn 2-3 cm long, divergent

Triticeae

Elymus canadensis

Canada wildrye

1. nodes are bearded

2. panicles are narrow, contracted, with numerous branches

Andropogoneae

Bothriochloa barbinodis

cane bluestem

1. sodgrass with flat stems and stolons and bearing flat, short, rounded blades

2. seed heads of 2 or 3 racemes

3. spikelets are fuzzy

4. seed branches look like braided leather whip

Paniceae

Axonopus fissifolius

common carpetgrass

1. slender stolons, internodes wiry

2. culms villous at nodes

3. blades pilose

4. axis flat, internodes alternately curved

5. zigzag seed stalk

Cynodonteae

Hilaria belangeri

curly mesquite

1. spikelets solitary in 4 rows on 1 side of rachis

2. decumbent base

3. spikelets fringed with silky hair

Paniceae

Paspalum dalitatum

dallisgrass

1. thick, knotty rhizomes

2. pistillate spikelets embedded in rachis, staminate above

3. glumes of spikelets darkened

Andropogoneae

Tripsicum dactyloides

eastern gamagrass

1. stems, felt-like pubescence below

2. short, rigid, flat blades with one edge often crinkled

3. inflorescence resembles a lovegrass, but single, fuzzy seeds on the end of short branches

Paniceae

Digitaria cognata

fall witchgrass

1. seed heads have 2 to 5 branches with half-rounded smooth seeds that occur in pairs

2. seeds are crowded along the branches

3. seeds are about 2-4 mm wide

4. grows in culms from short, thick rhizomes

Paniceae

Paspalum floridanum

Florida paspalum

1. sheaths keeled and flattened, purple base

2. translucent glumes with green nerve

3. lemmas broad, notched at apex (erose), appears flattened at apex

4. spikelets reassemble a stack of v's

5. cleistogamous spikelets in robust plants

Eragrosteae

Leptochloa dubia

green sprangletop

1. inflorescence is short, compact

2. stems growing from a crown of dense tufts

3. leaf blades are narrow and the edges roll inward like a cord

4. glumes have short, bristly hairs on the margin

Cynodonteae

Spartina spartinae

gulf cordgrass

1. one floret per spikelet with an awn 2-18 mm long

2. conspicuous purple florets

3. open diffuse panicles

Eragrosteae

Muhlenbergia capillaris

hairawn muhly

1. rachis extending beyond rooster comb-like spikelets

2. spikelets hairy, black dotted-glands

3. papilla based hairs on leaf margins

Cynodonteae

Bouteloua hirsuta

hairy grama

1. leaves have whitish margins, pointed at the tip

2. usually has only one node above the basal cluster of leaves

3. inflorescence is a contracted panicle, 20 to 30 mm long

Eragrosteae

Erioneuron pilosum

hairy tridens

1. slick, flat, green blades

2. basal blades are slick and flat and turn curly when dry, resembling wood shavings

3. single-seeded spikelets are borne on very short pedicels

4. seed turn dark brown and shiny when ripe

Paniceae

Panicum hallii

Hall panicum

1. leaves folded, blunt tipped

2. spikes digitate, radiating

3. flat base

4. short awns on triangular shaped spikelets

Cynodonteae

Chloris Cucullata

hooded windmillgrass

1. Dioecious-staminate straw colored, pistillate green-lead colored

2. scaly, salty rhizomes

3. sheaths closely overlapping, alternate leaf arrangement is obvious

4. blades tightly curled

5. edge of lemma yellow and coarse

Eragrosteae

Distichlis spicata

inland saltgrass

1. sheaths usually pubescent

2. spikelets 5-70 mm long, usually terete

3. glumes and lemmas usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous

4. awns about 1 cm and bent

Bromeae

Bromus japonicus

Japanese brome

1. grows from extensively creeping, scaly rhizomes

2. blades are flat, often splotched with purple, has a prominent midvein

3. open panicles have branchlets, mostly in whorls of four

4. awns soon fall, leaving shiny fruit

Andropogoneae

Sorghum halepense

Johnsongrass

1. leaves have long, silky hairs

2. terminal, loose seed head

3. usually purplish seed head

Andropogoneae

Bothriochloa ischmaemum

King Ranch bluestem

1. often knotty bases

2. erect leaves

3. nodes are hairless

4. papilla based hairs on leaf margins

Paniceae

Panicum coloratum

kleingrass

1. bent, knee-like base

2. short, knotty, underground rootstocks

3. seed head is erect, 3 to 8 cm long; 1 cm wide

4. five or more bristles below each egg-shaped spikelet

Paniceae

Setaria parviflora

knotroot bristlegrass

1. blades lack auricle

2. glumes dilated above base

3. awn 8-15 mm long

4. glumes very scabrous

5. 3 spikelets per node, middle one is sessile and lateral ones are pedicellate

Triticeae

Hordeum pusillum

little barley

1. racemes solitary on each peduncle, continuous inflorescence

2. foliage is bluish-green in summer turning reddish in winter

3. peduncle included in sheath

4. flat, slightly decumbent base

5. has a ligule

Andropogoneae

Schizachyrium scoparium

little bluestem

1. conspicuous purple fruits or seeds

2. panicles about 36 cm long, 1-2 cm wide

3. glumes longer than lemmas

Eragrosteae

Tridens strictus

longspike tridens

1. smooth stems, growing from a creeping base

2. inflorescence has four to seven loosely attached racemes which grow parallel and close to the axis

3. seeds are borne in straight rows along the side of each seed branch

Paniceae

Paspalum lividum

longtom

1. blades mostly involute

2. spikelets awnless, smooth

3. sometimes have large rhizomes

4. slender stems, discolored at base

Cynodonteae

Spartina patens

marshhay cordgrass

1. spikelets 3 to 7 mm long

2. one floret per spikelet

3. culms slender, 1-2 mm thick at the base

4. contracted panicle more or less spike-like usually enclosed at base or sometimes entirely in the inflated upper sheath, branched culm

5. glumes taper into pedicel

6. panicles with 16-36 spikelets per cm² when pressed

7. uppermost sheaths 0.8-2.5 mm wide

Eragrosteae

Sporobolus drumondii

meadow dropseed

1. annual

2. equal glumes

3. dichotomous branching (branched at nodes)

4. lemma 15 mm long or more

Aristideae

Aristida oligantha

oldfield threeawn

1. bunchgrass is erect with dark nodes and heavily veined leaves

2. pinkish, narrow, loose panicle is 12 to 25 cm long

3. spikelet is borne on a footstalk and contains three to five pineapple shaped florets, each with about 12 unequal awns

Pappophoreae

Pappophorum bicolor

pink pappusgrass

1. sheaths keeled

2. spikelet subtended by 1 bristle 10-15 mm

Paniceae

Setaria Leucopila

plains bristlegrass

1. sheaths are conspicuously hairy at the throat and across the collar

2. panicle is large, open, erect and pyramid-shaped, three- to eight-flowered spikelets

3. ring of hairs in the axil of the branches

Eragrosteae

Eragrostis intermedia

plains lovegrass

1. perennial

2. long awns, unequal glumes, first 1/3 to 2 as long as second

3. more basal leaves than oldfield threeawn

4. does not branch at nodes

Aristideae

Aristida purpurea

purple threeawn

1. sheaths are flattened and overlapping at the base

2. panicle is open and spreading in a pyramid shape

3. spikelets are 5 to 7 flowered

Eragrosteae

Tridens flavus

purpletop

1. Slender, erect stems with a rattail appearing seed head

2. panicle often is infested with a black fungus

3. seeds are reddish

Eragrosteae

Sporobolus indicus

rattail smutgrass

1. stems have 3 to 7 red, purplish to pale slender spikes

2. spikelets have three short, rough awns

Cynodonteae

Bouteloua trifida

red grama

1. panicle is green to purplish, straw yellow when mature

2. spikelets are crowded in clusters

Eragrosteae

Eragrostis secundiflora

red lovegrass

1. lower sheaths and blades hairy

2. spikelets are overlapping, forming v's with short or no awn

3. papery ligule at the collar is split on top

Bromeae

Bromus Catharticus

rescuegrass

1. dark green stems with dark, swollen nodes

2. spikelets are set edgewise and fit into the concave rachis

3. lemmas are awned

4. it has prominent auricles at the top of the sheath

Poeae

Lolium perenne

ryegrass

1. inflor. pyramidal, partly enclosed in sheath

2. densely hairy at collar

3. blade beneath inflor. at right angle to culm (flag leaf)

4. blades flat

5. roots small when compared to alkali sacaton

Eragrosteae

Sporobolus cryptandrus

sand dropseed

1. panicle purplish, diffuse, large

2. pedicel long

3. sparsely pilose in axils

4. spikelets generally larger than those of plains lovegrass

Eragrosteae

Eragrostis trichodes

sand lovegrass

1. growing from a decumbent base

2. leaf blades are erect, rather wide, rounded at the base

3. open, spreading panicle with a single spikelet is produced on each branch

4. rosette of basal leaves in winter

Paniceae

Dichanthelium oligosanthes

scribner rosettegrass

1. scaly rhizomes

2. papilla based hairs on leaf margins

3. spikelets pendulous (comb-like)

4. rachis left on culm after disarticulating

Cynodonteae

Bouteloua curtipendula

sideoats grama