General:
Annual tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems 2-15 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheath margins open about 2/3 their length; sterile shoots emerging inside the sheaths with indistinct two-keeled buds protecting the scales; blades 1-4 mm wide, flat, thin; ligules 0.5-3 mm long, the backs smooth, hairless.

Flowers:
Inflorescence an erect panicle, 1-6 cm long, 1.5-3 times longer than wide, the branches 1 to 2 (5) per node, ascending; spikelets laterally compressed, 3-5 mm long, 2- to 6-flowered; the lower glumes 1-nerved; rachillas smooth, hairless, visible from the side, terminal internodes 1/2-3/4 the length of the terminal lemmas; lemmas lanceolate, 2-2.5 mm long, the tips rounded to sharp-pointed, surface smooth, keel, marginal, and lateral nerves short silky-hairy, lateral nerves moderately prominent; calluses hairless; palea keels silky-hairy; flowers bisexual, or the upper ones in a spikelet female; anthers 0.1-0.5 mm long, more or less globe-shaped prior to opening.

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