Plant often greyish-green, densely tufted; culms (20-)50-70cm high; basal leaf-blades wiry and bristle-like, 3-40cm long, 0.8-1.5(-2)mm wide, often as long as the culms, the upper shorter and sometimes flat; ligule usually not decurrent on the sheath margins; spikelets 2.5-5mm long; lemmas 2-3mm long.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: April-August.

Type locality: Europe.

Distribution: Pakistan (Baluchistan, Punjab, N.W.F.P., Gilgit & Kashmir); throughout Europe and temperate Asia; widely introduced elsewhere.

Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass is often extremely difficult to distinguish from subsp. pratensis. Although good examples of each are obviously quite distinct, there are rather too many borderline specimens for the taxa to warrant recognition at a rank higher than subspecies.

1000-4000m.