Slender upright grass with variable leaves. The blades are usually glabrous but the sheaths are softly hairy or scabrous. The 'ligule' (structure of the junction where the leaf angles away from the culm) includes a pair of slender, pointed extentions wrap around the stem like an untied bow tie. Similar structures are found in the exotic Rye-grasses (Lolium spp.) but in Elymus these are typically a pale yellow colour. Flowerheads are slender and often arching. The mature florets (composed of bracts that surround the grain) dry into graceful 'hooks' which allow them to catch on fur. The the slender culms of some Wheat Grass plants elongate immensely on maturity, sometimes reaching over a metre and a half and snaking through the surrounding vegetation. This habit is not consistent, even within plants growing in the same place.