Description: This native perennial
grass is about 4-7' tall and unbranched. The central culm is green to light
brown, terete (round in cross-section), and glabrous. The alternate leaves are
located primarily along the lower half of the culm. The leaf blades are up to
3' long and 1" across; they are linear, flat, green to yellowish green, and
glabrous. Each blade has a rather thick succulent texture, fine parallel veins,
and a prominent midrib. The leaf blades typically curve upward from the central
culm and then curve downward toward their tips. The leaf sheaths are green to
yellowish green, finely ribbed, and glabrous. Each ligule at the junction of
the blade and sheath has a ring of dense white hairs. The culm terminates in a
raceme of floral spikes up to 1½' long; these spikes are widely spaced
along the central stalk of the raceme and they are appressed, ascending, or
widely spreading. Each spike is about 3-5" long and consists of many narrow
spikelets that are densely appressed together along one side of its rachilla
(secondary stalk). At the base of each spike, there is a pedicel up to 1" long,
while the rachilla of the spike is often dark red or burgundy. The spikelets
are initially green and glabrous, although they later turn brown after the
blooming period. Each spikelet consists of a pair of glumes, a pair of lemmas,
and a floret. The first glume is about 1/3" (10 mm.) long, linear-lanceolate,
and strongly keeled; the second glume is 2/3–1" (20-30 mm.) long
(including its awn), linear-lanceolate, strongly keeled, and conspicuously
awned. The keels of the glumes have rough margins. The lemmas are about 1/3"
(10 mm.) in length, linear-lanceolate, and keeled. Each floret has 3 stamens
and 2 plumose stigmas. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early
fall. With maturity, the spikelets disarticulate below the glumes and fall to
the ground with their grains. The root system is fibrous and strongly
rhizomatous. Vegetative colonies of plants are often produced.