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Plant loosely tufted, sometimes rhizomatous. Culms 15–60(–100) cm tall, 1–3-noded. Leaf sheaths glabrous or loosely pilose, mouth glabrous or bearded; leaf blades flat, up to 12 cm, 2–7 mm wide, glabrous or loosely pilose, smooth or scabrid, apex acuminate; ligule 1–3 mm, obtuse. Panicle dense, spikelike, lanceolate to narrowly oblong in outline, 2–7(–10) × 0.4–1 cm; branches short; pedicels pubescent or glabrous. Spikelets lanceolate, 6–9 mm; glumes unequal, pubescent or punctiform-scabrid, margins sometimes ciliate, lower glume ca. 1/2 length of upper glume, 1-veined, upper glume subequal to spikelet, 3-veined; lower florets sterile, composed only of lemmas, 2.5–3.5 mm, pilose on back, apex 2-lobed, lobes short, obtuse; first lemma awned from near middle, awn straight, 2–4 mm; second lemma awned near base, awn geniculate, 7–9 mm; bisexual floret 2–3 mm, smooth, shiny; palea 1-veined; anthers 3–4.5 mm. Fl. and fr. May–Aug.
Perennial. Culms slender or robust, 30–100 cm high, 2 or 3-noded, unbranched above. Young shoots extravaginal. Leaves: blade 3–30 cm long, (1.5–) 2–9 mm wide, with midrib prominent in lower 1/3. Inflorescences 1.5–7.5 (–12) cm long. Spikelets subsessile or pedicellate, 6–10.2 mm long. Glumes: lower glume 3.5–5.1 mm long; upper glume 6.6–10.2 mm long, with midnerve glabrous or scabrous to pilose towards base. Sterile florets: lemmas 3–3.5 mm long, dorsally rounded, with hairs over most of dorsal surface but not on lobes; lemma awns dorsal, arising from midpoint or upper 1/2 of basal lemma and from near base of second lemma, markedly unequal; awn of basal lemma 2.25–3.4 mm long, relatively slender and straight; awn of second lemma 6.6–8 mm long, stout and geniculate, with twisted column pigmented at maturity. Bisexual floret: lemma 1.7–2.55 mm long; palea equalling lemma, narrowly elliptic, hyaline.
Loosely or densely tufted perennial, 0.3-0.6(-1.0) m high, fresh plant smells of coumarin (scent of vanilla or newly mown hay. Leaf blade 150-300 x 2-8 mm, expanded, apex acute to acuminate; ligule an unfringed membrane. Inflorescence a narrow, spikelike panicle, 10-90 mm long. Spikelet 7-10 mm long, laterally compressed; glumes unequal acute, hyaline, glabrous or minutely pilose on back, keel scaberulous; lower glume 1-nerved; upper glume longer than and enfolding spikelet. Florets 3; lower 2 florets male or sterile, lower lemma long, always dark brown, densely hairy, awn short, straight from above middle of back, second lemma awned from near base, awns with lower part twisted, geniculate; uppermost floret bisexual, lemma glabrous, awnless; anther 4.0-4.5 mm long. Flowering time Oct.-Feb.
Tufted perennial 3–7 dm; lvs mostly near the base, 2–5 mm wide, the upper much shorter; ligules (1–)2–3 mm; panicle spike-like, long-exsert, 3–9 cm; glumes scabrous on the keel to villous throughout, the first 4 mm, the second 7–9 mm; sterile lemmas 3–3.5 mm, golden-silky, the awn of the second about equaling the second glume; fertile lemma suborbicular, 2 mm; 2n=10, 20. Native of Europe, intr. in lawns, meadows, roadsides, and waste places from Nf. to Ga., w. to Mich., Ill., and La.
A grass which keeps growing from year to year and grows in tufts. It grows 10-100 cm high. It only has a few hairs. The flower head is narrowly oval. It is 2-7 cm long. This can be green to golden brown. The spikelets are flattened and crowded on short branches. They are 7-9 mm long. The plant has a sweet smell like new mown hay.
