Habit: 		Densely tufted perennial with short stout rhizomes.
Culms: 		20-60 cm. tall, stiffly erect to spreading, rigid, simple.
Blades: 	10-30 cm. long, 3-8 mm. wide, flat or folded, firm, stiffly ascending, 
                glabrous or rarely pilose, often involute in drying.
Sheaths: 	Overlapping, glabrous or sparingly pilose, densely bearded
                at the throat.
Ligule:         Ring of hairs 2-4 mm. long.
Inflorescence: 	Panicle 15-60 cm. long, loosely flowered, two thirds the height
                of the plant, widely diffuse, reddish-purple, included at the base
                or exserted after the upper spikelets have fallen, branches ascending,
                spreading, pilose in the axils, the lower branches shorter than the 
                middle ones, finally reflexed, the panicle finally breaking loose as
                a tumbleweed.
Spikelets: 	Long or short, stiff pediceled, linear-oblong, purplish, 4-12-flowered, 
                4-8 mm. long, 1.5-2 mm. wide, numerous.
Glumes: 	2, about equal, about 1.5 mm. long, ovate, acute, minutely scabrous, 
                especially on the keel.
Lemmas: 	Acute, 1.5-2 mm. long, prominently 3-nerved, usually broad, slightly 
                scabrous towards the tip.
Palea: 		Nearly as long as its lemma, somewhat bowed out, exposing the 
                rather prominent short ciliate keels.
Fruit: 		Grain oval, dark brown, 0.6 mm. long.
Habitat: 	Dry or sandy soil.  August-September.
Synonyms:	Eragrostis spectabilis (Pursh) Steud. var. sparsihirsuta Farw.