Culms 25–50(60) cm, usually 3–5 times the height of the vegetative shoot leaves, usually glabrous below the inflorescences, sometimes sparsely scabrous or pubescent; blades usually scabrous on the abaxial surfaces, scabrules to 0.1 mm; abaxial sclerenchyma in 3–5 strands, sometimes partly confluent or forming a continuous band. Lemmas smooth or scabrous distally.
Festuca saximontana var. saximontana grows throughout the range of the species.