perennial, densely tufted; culms erect or subgeniculate, rather slender, 1–2 ft. high, glabrous, smooth, 2-noded; leaves mainly crowded at the base; basal sheaths about 1 in. long, pallid, persistent, glabrous, sometimes scantily bearded at the mouth, or more or less pubescent to villous all over; upper sheaths 3–5 in. long, usually quite glabrous; ligules oblong, obtuse, up to 3 lin. long; blades linear, long tapering to a subsetaceous point, 2–6 in. by 1 1/2–2 lin., flaccid, flat, glabrous or pubescent above, slightly rough, margins cartilaginous, almost smooth, wavy; false spike cylindric, 2 1/2–4 in. by 2–3 lin., villous; rhachis very slender, obscurely wavy, glabrous; spikelets in subsessile clusters of about 5 which are bearded at the base, 2 1/2–5 lin. long; lower glume lanceolate, setaceously acuminate, 2 1/2–5 lin. long, coriaceous, minutely tubercled and villous outside, 3–4-nerved, upper setaceously subulate from a short ovate base, hyaline, ciliate, 1 1/2–2 lin. long, 1-nerved; lower valve oblong, acute, hyaline, 5–7-nerved, dorsally flattened, finely pubescent, long ciliate from tubercled-based hairs in the upper half; upper valve with a hermaphrodite or in the 2 inner spikelets (facing the rhachis) with a ♂ flower, oblong, acute, 3-nerved, glabrous; anthers 1 1/2 lin. long. null
