Alopecurus aequalis var. aequalis

General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots (sometimes flowering as a winter annual); stems erect or decumbent and freely rooting at the nodes (especially when growing in standing water), 20-70 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths open; blades lax to firm, densely and minutely rough at least on the upper surfaces, (1) 2-5 mm wide; ligules jagged or entire, sharp-pointed but usually folded back, (2) 4-8 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a pale green, cylindrical panicle, mostly 1.5-7 (8) cm long; spikelets less than 4 mm long (excluding the awns); glumes (1.8) 2-2.3 (2.5) mm long, more or less silky over the back, the nerves fringed with long, fine hairs, tips rounded and somewhat wax-papery; lemmas with margins fused for slightly less than 1/2 their length, subequal to the glumes, awned, the awns inserted at or just below midlength, straight, about equal to or slightly longer than the glumes (exserted less than 1.5 mm beyond them), 2-3 mm long; anthers (0.5) 0.6-0.7 (1) mm long.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Flower Colour:
Green

Blooming Period:
Mid Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer

Source:  The USDA

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Alopecurus aequalis subsp. aequalis