Plants perennial; loosely cespitose. Culms 50–110 cm, erect. Sheaths usually densely retrorsely pilose, sometimes densely villous generally or only on the throat; ligules 1–3.5 mm, glabrous, obtuse, lacerate to erose; blades 10–30 cm long, 3–5 mm wide, glabrous or hairy. Panicles 10–28 cm, lax, usually open; lower branches 2–3 per node, stiffly spreading to ascending, with 2–5 spikelets. Spikelets 20–40 mm, with 4–6(8) florets. Lower glumes 5–7(9)-veined; upper glumes10–17 mm, 7–9-veined; lemmas 11–16 mm, scabrous, glabrous or pubescent, 9–11-veined; awns (5)6–10 mm; anthers 0.6–1 mm in cleistogamous florets, 3–5 mm in chasmogamous florets. 2n = 42.
Bromus catharticus var. elatus, a native of South America, now grows in disturbed soils in central California. It has also been reported from ballast dumps in Oregon; the specimens located are actually var. catharticus.
Although published as “var. elata”, the correct Latin ending is “var. elatus”.