Green to glaucous, tufted, 6–14 dm; lvs ± flat, 4–12 mm wide, glabrous to scabrous; auricles mostly well developed, ca 2 mm and clasping the stem; spikes 6–16 cm, erect, compact or loose below, spikelets mostly paired, 10–16 mm, 2–3(4)-fld; glumes subequal, (6.5–)9–14+ mm, narrowly lanceolate, broadest above the flat, sometimes slightly indurate base, 3–5-veined, almost parallel and concealing the base of the subtended florets, glabrous to scabrous, tapering into a short awn; lemmas 8.5–12+ mm, 5-nerved above, glabrous to scabrous on the nerves, tapering into a slender, usually straight awn (10–)14–22(–30) mm; larger paleas 5.5–8.5 mm; anthers 1.7–3 mm; 2n=28. Open woods, moist meadows, and dry hillsides; widespread in the w. cordillera, e. less commonly to Ark., Io., n. Mich., Ont., and w. N.Y.
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A tufted grass. It does not have a creeping rootstock. It grows 1 m high and spreads 50 cm wide. The stems are erect and hairy. The leaves are long, blue and narrow. The glumes and lemmas are smooth. The flowers are in densely packed heads.
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