Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.

Habitat: Disturbed areas and waste land, and along streams and pond margins.

Flowers: June-October

Origin: Introduced from Europe

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Wind

Ill-smelling annual, the hollow stems erect to decumbent, 1-5 dm. tall, with pit-like depressions just below the nodes.

Sheaths open, glandular, the throat with hairs up to 2 mm. long; ligules a fringe of straight hairs nearly 1 mm. long; blades flat to folded, 2-5 mm. broad.

Inflorescence a condensed panicle 7-15 cm. long, tapered from the base upward; spikelets ovate-oblong, up to 40-flowered, flattened, about 3 mm. broad; glumes keeled, subequal, 2-2.5 mm. long, the first 1-nerved, the second 3-nerved; lemmas awnless, with 3 prominent, non-converging nerves, strongly glandular on the keel.