Dark bluish-green, curing to gray or straw color. Leaves do not clasp the stem firmly, but pull away, exposing a smooth purple to green internode. Several long, closely appressed branches 3 to 5 inches long.
Seeds drop from the branches at maturity, leaving the branches looking somewhat like broom straw.
The spikelets are covered with white silvery hairs that give the entire seedhead a cottony appearance. Occurrence All the counties of the state except Apache. It is most abundant in the southern part of the state, largely between elevations of 1,000 to 6,000 feet. Although one of our most common desert grasses, it seldom forms pure stands but is found interspersed with other grasses, burroweed and mesquite. Forage Value Arizona cottontop responds quickly to spring and summer rains, makes rapid growth, and provides highly palatable green forage.