Perennial, cæspitose, 2–3 ft. high. Culms erect, somewhat stout, simple or branched below, glabrous, about 3-noded, internodes exserted. Leaf-sheaths terete, smooth, glabrous or very sparingly hairy upwards, subherbaceous, with a dense white spreading beard up to 3 1/2 lin. long at the nodes and a densely tomentose dorsal band at the junction with the blade; ligules very short, membranous, ciliate and long-hairy from the back; blades linear, long-attenuated to a fine point, slightly narrower at the base, to over 1 ft. long, 4 lin. broad, very loosely hairy on both sides, hairs very fine from minute tubercles, margins very finely cartilaginous and scaberulous, midrib whitish, broad and flat above, prominent below, lateral nerves about 4 on each side. Panicle oblong, up to 9 in. long; rhachis smooth, glabrous or scantily and shortly bearded at the nodes; lower branches 4–7-nate, upper mostly 3–4-nate or in depauperate states 2–3-nate or solitary, filiform, flexuous, undivided, 1 to over 2 in. long, glabrous and smooth or more or less rough from short stiff hairs. Racemes somewhat stout, mostly 6-noded, bearded at the nodes, about 1 in. long; joints 1 3/4–2 1/2 lin. long, densely ciliate, glabrous on back and face, hairs pale reddish, about 1 lin. long; pedicels very similar, more densely ciliate. Sessile spikelet broad-lanceolate-oblong, 3–3 1/2 lin. long, up to almost 1 lin. wide; lower glume coriaceous, except at the short scarious truncate tip, about 11-nerved (nerves fine, but distinct on the inner side), black except for a whitish transverse band above the short obtuse bearded callus and the paler tips, rigidly ciliate towards the tip, very sparingly hairy on the sides and sometimes below the middle on the back; upper glume coriaceous, slightly longer than the lower, lanceolate, subacuminate, acute, 5-nerved. Valve of lower floret sublinear, minutely 2-toothed, 2 lin. long, membranous, whitish, brown upwards, ciliate, 2-nerved; of upper floret broad-ovate, shortly 2-lobed, 1 1/2 lin. long, ciliate; awn slender, about 1 3/4 in. long, kneed at and twisted below the middle, column dark bronze-colour, minutely ciliate along the spirals, bristle pale. Valvule a broad scale as long as the densely ciliate lodicules. Anthers 1 1/2 lin. long. Pedicelled spikelet ♂ or particularly the uppermost reduced and neuter, oblong-lanceolate, 3 lin. long, greenish; glumes thinly chartaceous, loosely hairy, lower 9–11-, upper 5–7-nerved; valve of lower floret lanceolate, up to 2 1/2 lin. long, 2-nerved, ciliate, of upper broad-oblong, shortly 2-lobed, delicately hyaline except for a firmer median stripe, ciliate, with a ♂ flower.
