Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and northeastern North America.

Habitat: Moist to dry lowlands, meadows, mountain prairies and rocky slopes.

Flowers: July-August

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Wind

Strongly rhizomatous, often matted perennial, the culms solid, slightly flattened, 0.5-3 dm. tall.

Sheaths open; ligules acute, 1-2 mm. long; blades 1.1.5 mm. broad, somewhat involute.

Inflorescence a narrow, spike-like panicle 5-7 cm. long; spikelets 1-flowered; glumes about 1 mm. long, subequal, broad, the mid-nerve very prominent; lemmas 3-nerved, 2-3 mm. long, minutely awn-tipped; paleas 2-nerved, subequal to the lemmas.