Natalie said: It's so solid toward the base that you can't stick your hand in there, and then the 3 feet or so above that is really airy looking.
The base is tightly clumped and the culms (stems) are tall and erect, growing to a height of 60-140 cm.
Inflorescences (flowers or panicles) are 10-30 cm long, open and sparsely branched.
Key to identification: California fescue is coarser textured and usually taller than other native fescues, but might be confused with tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix, synonym Festuca arundinacea), which is widely introduced in the region. However, compared to California fescue, the leaves of tall fescue are wider (4-10 mm vs. 2-4 mm) and have prominent or clasping auricles (lobes at the base of the leaf blades). Parish’s fescue is smaller, but otherwise very similar to California fescue.