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

General:
Perennial, loosely to densely tufted grass from fibrous roots and short rhizomes or with isolated shoots; stems 35-80 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths round, margins open 1/4-2/3 their length, those of at least some lowermost leaves densely rough or hairy, the projections or hairs pointing downwards; collars of lowermost leaves hairless or with hairs of the same length and kind as on sheaths; blades of sterile shoots folded or in-rolled, infrequently flat, inner surface usually distinctly rough to minutely soft-hairy on and between nerves, of stem leaves 2-3.5 mm wide (the uppermost at least 1/4 as long as its sheath), flat or folded, inner surface indistinctly rough; ligules 0.5-2 mm long, thickened, the tips pointed to blunt, those of the lowermost leaves with the backs distinctly rough or minutely soft-hairy.

Flowers:
Inflorescence an erect or nodding panicle, 5-12 (18) cm long, egg-shaped to pyramidal, loosely contracted to open, lowermost internodes mostly less than 3.5 cm long, the branches 2 to 5 per node, ascending to spreading or reflexed, slightly to moderately rough; spikelets laterally compressed, 5.5-10 mm long, 2- to 7-flowered; glumes 1/4-2/3 (3/4) as long as the adjacent lemmas, the lower 1- to 3-nerved; rachillas smooth or rough, hairless or sparsely short straight-hairy; lemmas lanceolate, 3-6 mm long, the tips sharp-pointed, the surface hairless or rough, the keels and marginal nerves hairless or sparsely short silky-hairy, hairless or short straight-hairy or infrequently minutely soft-hairy between the nerves, lateral nerves obscure or moderately prominent; calluses hairless; palea keels rough; flowers female (rarely bisexual); anthers usually non-functional or aborted late in development and up to 2 mm long.