General:
Perennial, loosely tufted grass from fibrous roots and long rhizomes or with isolated shoots; stems 50-120 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths usually rough, the projections pointed downward, the margins open 1/4-1/2 their length; blades 3-6 mm wide, flat, narrowly prow-tipped; ligules 2-3.5 mm long, the backs smooth or slightly rough.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a panicle, 14-30 cm long, open, sparse, the branches mostly 1 to 2 per node, widely spreading, the longest 5.5-12 cm long, slightly to moderately rough-angled; spikelets laterally compressed, 4-8 mm long, 2- to 4-flowered; lower glumes 1- to 3-nerved; rachilla internodes about 1 mm long, smooth, hairless; lemmas lanceolate, 3.2-6 mm long, the tips sharp-pointed, surface smooth or sparsely rough, the keels and marginal nerves sparsely short silky-hairy, lateral nerves rarely sparsely, minutely soft-hairy and moderately prominent, hairless between the nerves; calluses cobwebby; palea keels more or less rough, hairless; flowers bisexual, normal (rarely bulbiferous); anthers 0.5-1.1 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