|  | Multitribe: Answers to key questions
    leading to this tribe. 
     
      |  | Mature inflorescence, if breaking into units, then the units not as
        below; NOT [Mature inflorescence breaking into spikelet units consisting
        of a sessile fertile spikelet, a hairy pedicel with or without a sterile
        spikelet at tip, and a hairy rachis joint, all arising at the same point
        (a node) in specialized panicle branches called rames] |  |  | Spikelets not as below; sterile florets if present, either located
        distal to the fertile floret(s) on the rachilla or paired and attached
        at the base of a single fertile floret, not paired with the upper glume
        as below; lemma and palea variously textured, enclosing the flower or
        not; disarticulation usually above the glumes; NOT [Spikelets usually
        dorsally compressed, appearing 1-flowered but containing 1 fertile
        floret and 1 sterile floret, the latter attached to the base of fertile
        floret opposite the upper glume, resembling the upper glume, and
        together with the upper glume enveloping the fertile floret; lower
        glumes minute (sometimes absent) to 3/4 as long as upper glumes and
        typically wrapping most of the way around the pedicel at base; fertile
        floret seed-like with chartaceous-indurate lemma and palea enclosing
        flower and fruit; disarticulation below the glumes with rare exceptions] |  |  | Spikelets 1 to many-flowered, subtended by a pair of glumes (only 1 on
        lateral spikelets in Lolium); palea margins enclosed or not; plants of
        dry or wet habitats; NOT [Spikelets 1-flowered, lacking glumes; margins
        of the palea tightly enclosed by the lemma margins on female or perfect
        florets; plants of wetlands, often emergent aquatic] |  |  | Inflorescence not as below; if a terminal spike, then the lateral
        spikelets attached edgewise to the rachis with inner (upper) glume
        wanting (as in Lolium); NOT [Inflorescence a terminal spike with sessile
        or subsessile spikelets attached broadside at nodes on opposite sides of
        the rachis] |  |  | Lemmas and lemma awns not as below; if lemma indurate and enveloping
        the floret, then glumes distinctly dorsally compressed and calluses
        glabrous (as in Milium); NOT [Lemmas stiff to indurate, firmer than the
        glumes, surrounding the palea and often overlapping along the margins,
        closed at the tip as well as at the base, often pubescent; lemma awns
        (caducous or wanting in some species) terete and encircled at the base
        by the closed tip of the lemma; calluses usually pubescent, rarely
        glabrous] 
 
 |  | 
  |  | Group3: Answers to key questions
    leading to this group. 
     
      |  | If plants mat-forming, then inflorescences not as below; NOT
        [Mat-forming annuals or perennials either with clusters of spikelets
        hidden by sharp-pointed leaves at branch tips, or with pistillate
        inflorescences consisting of burs partially hidden within expanded leaf
        sheaths with only the staminate inflorescences exceeding the upper
        leaves] |  |  | Inflorescence not as below, the spikelets usually on pedicels in
        panicles that range from spike-like to open; if spikelets sessile, then
        they either have more than 1 fertile floret per spikelet or are not
        arranged like the teeth of a comb; NOT [Inflorescence consisting of
        spike-like panicle branches with sessile- subsessile, closely imbricate,
        regularly-spaced, parallel spikelets all directed toward 1 side of the
        branch like the teeth of a comb (loosely so in Bouteloua curtipendula);
        fertile florets 1 per spikelet] |  |  | Spikelets with more than 1 fertile floret; sterile florets if present,
        attached above the fertile florets (Phragmites, with sterile florets
        attached above and below fertile florets, is an exception); NOT
        [Spikelets with 1 fertile floret; sterile florets if present, attached
        above or below the fertile floret] 
 
 |  |  | Puccinellia: Answers to key questions
    leading to this genus. 
     
      |  | Inflorescence a panicle with all spikelets subtended by 2 glumes; NOT
        [Inflorescence a terminal spike; lateral spikelets positioned edgewise
        to the rachis and lacking a glume on inside edge] |  |  | Spikelets usually pedicellate; if sessile-subsessile, then not
        arranged as below; NOT [Spikelets sessile or subsessile on spike-like
        panicle branches, or on short secondary branches in dense one-sided
        clusters at branch tips] |  |  | Rachillas glabrous or pubescent; if pubescent, then hairs much shorter
        than the lemmas; panicles and plants not as below; NOT [Rachillas with
        silky hairs (4) 6-10 mm long, as long as the lemmas or nearly so;
        panicles 15-35 (45) cm long, 8-20 cm wide at maturity, dense, feathery;
        plants 10-30 (40) dm tall, with stout, creeping rhizomes and often
        forming dense stands] |  |  | Glumes < 17 mm long; if glumes longer, then plants perennial; NOT
        [Glumes 18-32 mm long, usually exceeding the lemmas; plants annual] |  |  | Plants without the below combination of characteristics; NOT [Culm
        sheaths closed to near summit; leaf blades flat; spikelets 12-40 (55) mm
        long; lemmas 7-14 (21) mm long, usually awned, the awns terminal or
        subterminal; calluses glabrous; ovaries and caryopses with pubescent
        apical appendage; caryopses adnate to paleas at maturity] |  |  | Plants without the below combination of characteristics; NOT [Rachilla
        conspicuously pubescent with straight hairs; calluses bearded; spikelet
        2 (3-4) flowered; lemma 2-4 toothed, sometimes obscurely so, sometimes
        entire; lemma awns attached dorsally or just below apex, often exceeding
        the lemma apex by only 1-2 mm (awn may be absent in Trisetum wolfii)] |  |  | Lemmas unawned or awned; if awns present, then the awns straight and
        terminal or subterminal, and the calluses glabrous or with short, sparse
        hairs; NOT [Lemmas awned, the awns 3-17 mm long, slightly outcurving or
        geniculate, attached dorsally about midlength, or at base of 0.5-8 mm
        long apical teeth; calluses with dense or long hairs] |  |  | Lemmas with 5 - 11 visibly-raised nerves or nerves too obscure to
        count; NOT [Lemmas with 3 visibly-raised nerves (1 midnerve and 2
        lateral nerves)] |  |  | Lemmas not as below, either keeled, or with obscure nerves or nerves
        converging distally; calluses glabrous or pubescent; NOT [Lemmas rounded
        or weakly keeled on the back, with 5-11 visibly- raised nerves that are
        +/- parallel their full length, their tips not converging distally;
        calluses glabrous] |  |  | Plants not as below; NOT [Plants low (to 4 (6) dm high), halophytic,
        dioecious perennials with scaly, stout, creeping, much-branched
        rhizomes; leaf blades strongly 2-ranked, 1-12 (20) cm long, reaching or
        exceeding at least the panicles; lemmas of flowers coriaceous, closely
        imbricate; caryopses long-beaked, the dark tip often visible between the
        pale-colored lemma and palea] |  |  | Plants growing in dry or wet habitats but not typically in water;
        rhizomes present or absent; culms slender and not particularly spongy at
        base; other features various; NOT [Plants growing in shallow water or
        wetlands; rhizomes extensive, creeping, thick, soft, succulent; culms
        thick (6 - 8 mm wide) and spongy at base; leaf sheaths open, large,
        papery, +/- inflated, the lower sheaths often cross-septate with air
        chambers; calluses densely bearded; lemma unawned but sometimes with
        nerves excurrent at tip] |  |  | Glumes not as below; disarticulation above the glumes; other features
        various;  NOT [Upper and
        lower glumes markedly dissimilar in shape, the lower glume subulate to
        linear and less than 1/3 as wide as the upper; the upper glume
        oblanceolate to obovate, and about 1/2 as wide to nearly as wide as
        long; spikelets 2-4 mm long, 2-3-flowered; disarticulation below the
        glumes with the distal floret sometimes falling before the spikelet] |  |  | Spikelets (1) 2-11 (15)-flowered; upper glume length various but if
        reaching the tip of the distal lemma, then glumes (6) 7-8.5 (9.5) mm
        long; rachises and panicle branches scabrous on the angles or smooth but
        not pubescent; sheaths open or closed part way; NOT [Spikelets (1) 2-3
        (4)-flowered; upper glume as long as the lowest lemma and sometimes
        reaching the tip of the distal lemma, 3-4 (5.5) mm long; rachises and
        panicle branches densely puberulent to villose; sheath open to base] |  |  | Lemmas lacking mucros or awns; glumes distinctly shorter than the
        lemmas, and plants lacking auricles; NOT [Lemmas mucronate or awned from
        the tip except sometimes lacking awns and mucros in plants with glumes
        reaching the tip of the distal lemma and in plants with soft auricles
        present on leaves at base of plant] |  |  | Lemmas rounded on back, 1.5-3 mm long; lemma tips finely erose;
        calluses with a few short hairs of irregular lengths; NOT [Lemmas
        usually keeled, sometimes rounded on the back; if rounded, then lemmas
        >= 3.5 mm long; lemma tips entire; calluses either glabrous or
        pubescent with curly or pleated hairs (a web) or with dense straight
        hairs (a crown)] 
 
 |  |  |  | Distans: Answers to key questions
    leading to this species
     
      |  | Lemmas 1.5 - 2 (2.2) mm long; lemma apex broadly obtuse or truncate;
        upper glumes 0.9 - 1.8 mm long, usually ovate to broadly ovate or
        obovate; anthers 0.4 - 0.8 mm long; lower panicle branches widely
        spreading to reflexed; spikelets borne on distal 1/2 of branch; NOT
        [Lemmas 2 - 3 mm long; lemma apex broadly acute to obtuse; upper glumes
        1 - 2.8 mm long, usually lanceolate to broadly lanceolate; anthers 0.6 -
        2 mm long; lower panicle branches usually erect to spreading, seldom
        reflexed; spikelets borne to base of branch or on the distal 2/3 |  |  |