Culms loosely clustered, few–several, erect or ascending, 2–7 dm, often purplish, densely pubescent to glabrous; sheaths occasionally glabrous, sometimes papillose, more often papillose-pilose with ascending hairs; ligule a band of hairs 1–2 mm; blades spreading, lanceolate, glabrous or rarely sparsely papillose-pilose above, glabrous to softly hairy or sparsely papillose-pilose beneath, usually papillose-ciliate and densely long-hairy at base, the larger 6–12 cm × 7–12 mm; primary panicle short-exsert (to 5 cm), becoming long-exsert in age, ovoid, 5–10 cm; spikelets glabrous or minutely villosulous, with broad, heavy veins, turgid, broadly ellipsoid to obovoid, 2.7–4 mm; first glume two-fifths as long, broadly ovate; second glume and sterile lemma subequal, barely equaling the fr; autumnal phase sparsely branched, chiefly from the middle and upper nodes, forming loose bunches, the blades not much reduced, surpassing the few-fld panicles; 2n=18. Dry or moist, often sandy soil, open woods, and prairies; Me. to Fla., w. to Wyo. and Tex., and in the Pacific states. Highly variable, but not clearly divisible into vars. (P. helleri; P. scribnerianum; Dichanthelium o.)
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