Perennial with well-developed woody rhizomes. Stems loosely bunched and often in patches, 30–90 cm tall, branching mostly at ground level, internodes lightly hairy and with a dull texture. Leaves: blades 2–6 mm wide, ligule <1 mm long. Inflorescence a contracted panicle 3–11 cm long. Spikelets 4–6 mm long. Lemmas lightly hairy at the base and up the margins, awn-tipped or rarely short-awned, callus hairs short to absent (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).