Culms usually less than twice as long as the vegetative shoot leaves. Spikelets 3.5–5(5.5) mm. Lemmas 2.5–4 mm; awns 1–2(2.2) mm. 2n = 28(?) [chromosome count is unknown, but has been inferred].
Festuca brachyphylla subsp. breviculmis is endemic to California, where it grows in alpine habitats in the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains.