Distribution: British Columbia south on both sides of the Cascades to California, east to Alberta and Colorado.
Habitat: Dry to occasionally moist prairies, foothills, and open parks and ridges in mountain forests.
Flowers: June - July
Origin: Native
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Tufted perennial, the culms hollow, 1-3 dm. tall, the plants usually strongly hairy throughout.
Sheaths open, the hairs at the throat 3-4 mm. long; ligule 0.5-1 mm. long; blades usually involute, 1-3 mm. broad.
Panicle usually reduced to a single spikelet, sometimes with 2 or 3; glumes 5-nerved, the first 15-23 mm. long, the second slightly shorter; lemmas 9-12 mm. long, glabrous on the back and bearded on the margins, bifid, the teeth 1-2 mm. long; awn attached just below the lobes of the lemma 7-8 mm. long; paleas broad, shorter than the lemmas; callus slightly bearded.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Danthonia unispicata in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.
WA Flora Checklist: Danthonia unispicata checklist entry.
E-Flora BC: Danthonia unispicata atlas page.
CalPhotos: Danthonia unispicata photos.
USDA Plants: Danthonia unispicata information.