Orchard Grass develops early and becomes tall; it usually blooms by early summer. At this time of year, it can be identified by the stiff lower branches of the panicles; each of these lower branches form an angle of 90° or less with the central axis of the inflorescence. Furthermore, each branch has a dense tuft of spikelets along its upper half, otherwise it is naked. Both the glumes and lemmas are rather long (5-8 mm.) and they are usually ciliate along their keels. The foliage of Orchard Grass is hairless and the ligules have long papery membrances that are often shredded. These various characteristics are especially useful in identifying this species correctly. Orchard Grass is the only Dactylis sp. in Illinois.