Plants perennial. Spikelets 25-60 mm. Lemmas unawned, sometimes mucronate, mucros to 1.5 mm; paleal appendages 0.5-1 mm. 2n = 16.
Pleuropogon californicus var. davyi is the more restricted of the two varieties, being known only from vernal pools, sloughs, and marshy grasslands in Mendocino and Lake counties, California.