[1] It is a perennial grass with stems growing 30 to 50 centimeters long and decumbent along the ground at maturity.

The inflorescence is a series of single-spikelet nodes a few centimeters long, each spikelet with an outward-curved awn up to 2.5 centimeters long.

[citation needed] Elymus violaceus is very widely distributed, being native from eastern Siberia to the Russian Far East, and to most of North America.

[1] Under the synonym Elymus sierrae and known as Sierra wild rye, it has been considered to be restricted to California and Nevada and vulnerable.

[2] Plants of the World Online regards Elymus sierrae as a synonym of Elymus violaceus, which has a very widespread distribution.