Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to the Rocky Mountains; also in eastern North America.

Habitat: Sagebrush desert, fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.

Flowers: April-June

Origin: Introduced from Eurasia

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Wind

Usually puberulent annual, the stems 2-6 dm. tall.

Sheaths open; auricles well-developed; ligules membranous, 0.5 mm. long; blades short, 1-1.5 mm. broad, the margins with conspicuous long, stiff hairs.

Inflorescence a spike 2-5 cm. long; spikelets usually 2 per node, crowded, with 1 perfect flower, the rachilla prolonged with a vestige of a second flower; glumes very narrow, stiff, tapered to a slender awn up to 3 cm. long; lemmas scabrous, 3-nerved, 5-7 mm. long, with a strong, flattened awn 3-10 cm. long.