General:
Perennial tufted or untufted grass from fibrous roots and rhizomes; stems stout, 20-100 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheath margins open 1/6-1/4 their length; shoots if present, isolated, robust, often glaucous; blades 4-11 mm wide, flat, thick, smooth to slightly rough; ligules 1-3.5 mm long, yellowish-cream to brownish, the tips blunt, jagged, rough.

Flowers:
Inflorescence an erect panicle, 8-30 cm long, congested, the branches ascending, smooth or slightly rough; spikelets laterally compressed, 5-12 mm long, 2- to 6-flowered; glumes often glaucous, sharp-pointed to long-pointed, the lower ones 4-9.5 mm long, 1- to 3- (5-) nerved, the upper ones 5.5-10 mm long, (1-) 3- (5-) nerved; rachillas smooth, infrequently sparsely and minutely soft-hairy; lemmas lanceolate, 4.5-7 mm long, the tips sharp-pointed, thinly membranous, 5- to 7-veined, surface finely rough to short straight-hairy, keel and marginal nerves sometimes long silky-hairy; calluses usually with a crown of 1-2 mm long slightly wavy hairs around base; palea keels rough; flowers bisexual; anthers 1.7-3.2 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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Poa eminens J. Presl