12a. var. glabriflorus (Vasey) Bush

E. glabrifloris (Vasey) Scribn. & C. Ball

E. virginicus f. australis (Scribn. & C. Ball) Fernald

E. glabrifloris var. australis (Scribn. & C. Ball) J.J.N. Campb.

Stems mostly 100–140 cm long, erect or less commonly weak (leaning or arched). Inflorescence 6–16 cm long, (2)3–6 cm wide (including the awns), with the base positioned well above the uppermost leaf sheath. Spikelets loosely ascending to spreading. Glumes with the awn 10–25 mm long. Lemmas with the awn 15–40 mm long.

Common throughout Missouri (eastern U.S. west to South Dakota and Texas). Bottomland forests, mesic to dry upland forests, upland prairies, banks of streams, and glades; also pastures, fallow fields, and open, disturbed areas.

Plants ascribed to f. australis by some authors (Steyermark, 1963) tend to grow in relatively dry, rocky areas and have hairy spikelets and foliage, whereas typical var. glabriflorus tends to grow in somewhat moister sites and usually has the spikelets and foliage glabrous or roughened. However, in Missouri plants there is too much overlap in characters and habitats to permit formal recognition of these entities.