Arrhenatherum elatius ssp. bulbosum
Arrhenatherum elatius ssp. elatius
Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum
Arrhenatherum elatius var. elatius

General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems erect, hollow, sometimes hairy at the nodes, the base frequently enlarged and bulblike, often rooting at the first few nodes, but not truly rhizomatous, mostly 80-150 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths open, usually smooth, sometimes rough; blades flat, 4-8 (10) mm wide, 7-25 cm long, rough and often soft-hairy; ligules 1-2 (3) mm long, membranous, the margins jagged and fringed with small hairs, finely short-hairy, blunt.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a narrow, shining panicle, 10-30 cm long; glumes awnless, the lower glumes mostly 5-7 mm long, the upper ones 7-10 mm long; lemmas 5- to 7-nerved, hairy on the callus, awn of the lower lemmas 10-20 mm long, those of the upper lemmas 4-6 (15) mm long or rarely lacking; paleas about equalling the lemmas; anthers about 4 mm long; lodicules 2.5-3.5 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:
Yellow

Blooming Period:
Early Summer

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

Source:  The USDA