E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots and short rhizomes; stems unbranched, 15-50 cm tall, with 2 or sometimes 3 nodes.

Leaves:
Sheaths and collars smooth; blades flat to in-rolled, 2-5 mm wide, smooth below, smooth to rough above the leaf sheaths; ligules 2-5 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a contracted to somewhat open panicle 4-12 cm long, its branches to 4 cm long; spikelets 1-flowered; glumes long-pointed, 5-7 (8) mm long, often purple-tinged, smooth to rough only on the keels; lemmas 3-3.5 mm long, rough, 4-toothed at the tips, awned, the awns stout, twisted and bent, attached near the lemma base and exserted 3-6 mm beyond the glume tips, the callus hairs tufted, 2-3 mm long; rachillas 1-2 mm long, bearded with hairs about as long.