Evidently perennial, apparently a tall rambling grass. Culms moderately slender, terete, many-noded, simple for a long distance from the panicle downwards, internodes enclosed or very shortly exserted, pubescent upwards, the hairs from small tubercles. Leaf-sheaths very tight, terete, pubescent like the culms, striate; ligule a densely ciliate rim; blades lanceolate-linear from a slightly rounded base, long- and acutely acuminate, 3–3 1/2 in. by 3–5 lin., spreading, flat, rather firm, pale to glaucous-green, finely pubescent all over, margins rough, midrib very fine, whitish below, not or indistinctly differentiated above from the very numerous and close nerves. Panicle hardly exserted from the uppermost sheath, rather flexuous, broad-ovate in outline, 4 in. (up to 8 in. according to Schumann) by almost 3 in., widely open and very loose, divided to the third degree, bearing on the common axis and all its divisions spreading hairs with clavellate tips; common axis filiform, angular, very finely shortly and loosely hairy except for the clavellate hairs, internodes 9–6 lin. long; primary branches very loosely divided from the base or very near it, subcapillary, flexuous, terete, smooth, glabrous except for the scanty clavellate hairs, the longest up to almost 3 in. long, internodes 10–5 lin. long; secondary up to over 1 in. long, very scantily and distantly divided; pedicels very unequal, lower short to very short, upper and terminal up to 5 lin. long, very flexuous, all with very fine long hairs (besides the clavellate) towards the discoid tips. Spikelets elliptic-oblong, obtuse, up to 1 1/2 lin. long, somewhat turgid, pale green, variegated with purple, quite glabrous. Glumes unequal, membranous, faintly nerved, concave; lower obliquely lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, subacute in profile, 1/2– 3/4 lin. long, 5-nerved; upper obliquely oblong in profile, rather broad-elliptic when flattened out, subobtuse, as long as the spikelet, 9-nerved. Lower floret ♂; valve very similar to upper glume, but slightly narrower; valvule oblong, subacute, almost as long as the valve, keels minutely scaberulous; anthers 1 lin. long. Upper floret hermaphrodite, oblong, subobtuse, 1 1/4 lin. long, whitish: valve and valvule tough, papery, smooth or obscurely granular.