Seedling
The first blade is linear, about seven times longer than wide and opens somewhat parallel to the ground. Leaves are rolled in the bud; auricles are absent; and the ligule is a fringe of hairs (0.04-0.08 inches long) and dense.
Juvenile plant
Leaf blades are linear, flat or folded (8-20 cm long, 3-10 mm wide), without hairs, but may be rough. The sheath may be keeled; margins and collar are hairy, or slightly hairy on lower sheaths.
Mature plant
Stems erect, hairless, bent at nodes, reaching 3 feet tall.
Leaves in immature plants, leaf blades are linear, flat or folded (3.2 to 7.9 inches long, 0.1 to 0.4 inches wide), without hairs, but may be rough. The sheath may be kneeled; margins and collar are hairy, or slightly hairy on lower sheaths. Leaves on mature plants are without hairs on either surface of the blades. The culm is tufted, straight, or bent upward from the base, and lower nodes may have long hairs.
Root structure description
The root system is fibrous.
Post senescene
The seedhead is generally present from late summer through autumn.