General:
Annual, tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems thin, wiry, seldom over 1 mm wide, erect to spreading, 20-40 (50) cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths open; blades usually in-rolled, 1-2 mm wide, the lower ones elongate, the upper ones progressively shorter to only 1-2 cm long, long-hairy on the margins, 2-4 mm long, pustular-based; ligules minute, up to 0.5 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a slender panicle, 2-5 cm long, usually concealed but eventually exserted from the swollen sheaths, the axillary panicles also developed, and mostly included in the lower sheaths; spikelets 1-flowered, crowded; glumes narrowly triangular-lanceolate, straight, long-pointed, the lower ones 2.8-4.1 mm long, the upper ones 2.9-4.6 mm long; lemmas narrowly triangular-lanceolate, straight, minutely long-hairy, long-pointed, 3-5 mm long, paleas equal to or somewhat exceeding the lemmas; anthers 1-1.2 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