Description: This native or introduced
perennial plant is 2½–5' tall and unbranched. The culm is green,
hairless, and round in cross-section. The blades of the alternate leaves are up
to 10" long and ¾" across; they are linear, green or blue, hairless, and
rough along the margins. The base of each leaf blade is wider than the culm,
while toward its tip each leaf has a tendency to flop downward. The hairless
sheaths are the same color as the blades. The culm terminates in a slender
panicle of spikelets up to 10" long and 2-3" across. The side branches of this
panicle are erect to slightly spreading. The spikelets are initially light
green, but they later become golden tan and finally light tan. Each spikelet
has a pair of glumes at its base; these glumes are keeled, lanceolate,
hairless, and up to ¼" (6.5 mm.) in length. There are 2 sterile lemmas
that are quite small and inconspicuous, while the fertile lemma is lanceolate,
finely pubescent, and a little shorter than the glumes. This lemma encloses a
palea containing the grain. The blooming period occurs from early to
mid-summer. Each spikelet produces a single grain. The root system produces
extensive rhizomes. This grass forms vegetative colonies that often exclude
other species of plants.