General:
Perennial, strongly tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems hollow, minutely rough, mostly (15) 20-40 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths open; blades 1-2 mm wide, 7-25 cm long, in-rolled, minutely rough; ligules scarcely 0.5 mm long, membranous, the frontal margins with hairs 2-3 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a narrow panicle, 5-10 cm long, the branches mostly loosely ascending; lower glumes 7-13 mm long, about 1/2 the length of the upper ones, awn-tipped; florets 10-15 mm long, the calluses flattened, about 1 mm long; lemma awns (4) 5-8 cm long, 3-branched, the lateral branches divergent; paleas 2-2.5 mm long, slightly surpassed by the lodicules.

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:
Yellow

Blooming Period:
Early Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Spring

Source:  The USDA

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aristida fasciculata
Aristida longiseta Steud.
Aristida longiseta var. rariflora A.S. Hitchc.
Aristida longiseta var. robusta Merr.
Aristida purpurea var. robusta (Merr.) Piper