Wild forms can resemble wild oat (Avena) or fescue (Festuca). Oatgrasses are very common perennials with yellowish roots. The shining stems grow to a height of 1.5 meters, but die off in winter. The leaves are hairless with blunt ligules. The inflorescence is a panicle with two-flowered bisexual spikelets.
Species
Arrhenatherum album - tall oatgrass - Mediterranean from Portugal to Cyprus
Arrhenatherum calderae - Tenerife in Canary Islands
Arrhenatherum elatius - false oatgrass, tall oatgrass, tall meadow oat - Eurasia + North Africa from Iceland to Canary Islands + Kazakhstan; naturalized in East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas
