Erect or decumbent, branched from the base, often 1 m or more; sheaths glabrous; blades 8–30 mm wide; infl 1–3 dm, erect, typically with spreading, somewhat distant branches 2–8 cm, the longer ones rebranched, the main axis and branches glabrous or variously hairy but without conspicuous long setae, the hairs rarely over 3 mm; spikelets commonly purplish; second glume and sterile lemma about equal, usually beset with stout, papillose-based hairs at least on the veins, the glume awnless or nearly so; fertile lemma ca twice as long as wide, abruptly narrowed to an acuminate, persistent tip not sharply differentiated from the body; 2n=36. Damp or muddy ground, or a weed in waste places; Me. and Que. to Alta. and Wash., s. to Fla., Tex., Calif., and n. Mex. Two vars., both widespread in our range.
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