perennial; culms erect or suberect from a short oblique rhizome, rather stout, to more than 2 ft. high, glabrous or pubescent, particularly close to the nodes, about 4-noded, uppermost internode to more than 1 ft. long, long exserted; leaves usually scantily and spreadingly hairy or almost glabrous; sheaths tight, striate or sulcate, lowest thin, subpersistent, not breaking up into fibres; ligules hyaline, 1–2 lin. long; blades linear, tapering to an acute point, 6–10 in. by 2–5 lin., flat, subflaccid, dull or sometimes subglaucous, strongly striate, scaberulous to scabrid or almost smooth below, margins scabrid, midrib prominent below, whitish; panicle 6–9 in. long, erect, very lax; axis slender, scabrid, striate; branches 3–2-nate, filiform, scabrid, very flexuous, up to 5 in. long, undivided to about the middle, then very scantily divided, branchlets 3–1-spiculate; pedicels very unequal, lateral often much shorter than the spikelets; spikelets linear-oblong, 8–15 lin. long, light green, more or less erect, very loosely 5–10-flowered; rhachilla very slender, joints scabrid, up to 1 3/4 lin. long; glumes unequal, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate in profile, acute to subacute, subscarious, lower 2 1/2–4 lin. long, 1-nerved, upper broader, 3 1/2–4 1/2 lin. long, 3-nerved, nerves strong and scabrid; valves oblong-linear in profile, 4 1/2–6 lin. long, scaberulous or scabrid on the nerves, prominently 7-nerved, margins almost straight to or beyond the middle, then very gradually curved towards the short very minutely 2-toothed tip, very narrow; awn very close to the tip, fine, straight, scaberulous, 2–3 lin. long; pales 4–5 lin. long, keels rigidly ciliolate; stamens 3; anthers about 1–1 1/2 lin. long; ovary pubescent close below the appendage; grain (when immature) linear, strongly convexo-concave. null