Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains.

Habitat: Dry to moist alkaline places.

Flowers: June-September

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Wind

Strongly rhizomatous, yellowish-green perennial, the culms solid, glabrous, 1-3 dm. tall.

Sheaths open; ligules truncate, 0.5-1 mm. long; blades flat, scabrous-margined, 1-2 mm. broad.

Inflorescence a large, open panicle, often half as long as the total height of the plant; spikelets usually 1-flowered, but occasionally 2-flowered; glumes nearly equal, puberulent on the keel, the first 1-nerved, about 1 mm. long, the second slightly wider; lemmas up to half again as long as the glumes, 3-nerved, minutely awn-tipped; palea slightly longer than the lemma, 2-nerved.