perennial, densely cæspitose, light green or glaucous; culms very slender, terete, erect, simple or very scantily branched, wiry, 1–1 1/2 ft. long, about 3-noded, internodes exserted; sheaths very tight, often slightly widened at the base, the lower sometimes woolly; blades setaceously convolute, rather fine, up to 3/4 ft. long, curved or flexuous, smooth below, densely pubescent or hispidulous and almost white above; panicle very narrow, often spike-like, 2–4 in. long; rhachis straight or flexuous; branches solitary, the longest up to 1 1/4 in. long, scantily branched; branchlets filiform; lateral pedicels very short; spikelets yellowish, 4 1/2–5 1/2 lin. long; glumes unequal, oblong-linear, usually shortly mucronate, the lower 2–3 1/2 lin. long, acute, the upper about 4 lin. long, acute or minutely truncate; valve linear, convolute, produced into a short or usually very short beak (when of sufficient length to be slightly exserted then more or less twisted), scaberulous below the beak; callus 1/4 lin. long; awns continuous with the valve, divaricate, 5–7 lin. long, fine; pale hyaline, 2/3 lin. long; lodicules 5-nerved, 7/8 lin. long; anthers 1 1/2–2 lin. long, not apiculate. null
