Perennial (always?). Culms erect, stout, up to 4 lin. in diam. below, up to 8- (and probably more) noded, simple below the false panicle, terete, smooth, sometimes waxy below the nodes, glabrous. Leaf-sheaths terete, tight, glabrous, smooth, the lowest moderately firm; ligules very short, truncate, glabrous; blades linear to linear-lanceolate from a usually wider and sometimes rounded base, long-tapering to a fine point, to over 1 ft. long and 1/2 to over 1 in. wide, glaucous, glabrous, smooth except on the upper margins; midrib rather slender, primary lateral nerves 7–11 on each side, fine, slightly raised. Spatheate panicle very dense to quite compact, ovoid to oblong or subglobose, 3 1/2 to over 6 in. by 2 1/2–4 in.; lowest internodes 1–2 1/2 in. long, the following rapidly decreasing; lowest primary branches undivided at the base with the first internode as long as or slightly shorter than the subtending sheath, like the following repeatedly divided above it, their divisions forming much contracted mixed tiers, those of the last order usually 4–2-rayed; rays finely filiform, 2–1 1/2 lin. long, glabrous; subtending sheaths with normal but shorter blades; spathes lanceolate, acutely and often finely acuminate, thinly subherbaceous, 6–8 lin. long, green, then turning reddish or brownish. Spatheoles similar but scarious, narrower and somewhat shorter; peduncles 2–1 1/2 lin. long, very slender, glabrous. Racemes 2-nate, slender, olive-green to brownish, 4–7 lin. long, obscurely hairy, one sessile or subsessile, the other with a glabrous base up to 3/4 lin. long; joints linear, very slender, 1 lin. long, glabrous on the back, very shortly ciliate except for a few cilia about 1 lin. long below the tips, tips obliquely auriculate, cupular, auricles very broad; lowest joint of sessile raceme much shorter and stout; pedicels very similar, the lowest of the sessile raceme short but very slightly stouter, free from the adjacent joint and eciliate. Homogamous pair 1 at the base of the sessile raceme. Fertile spikelets oblong, subobtuse, 1 1/2 lin. long, glabrous; callus very small, obtuse, minutely bearded. Glumes subchartaceous, equal; lower subtruncate, flat on the back, with a fine or obscure median groove, keels acute or very obscurely winged; intracarinal nerves and oil-streaks one on each side of the groove, the former usually very delicate, the latter fusing in the tip, usually obscure, unless at length turning brown; upper glume narrow in profile, acutely keeled above, 1-nerved. Lower floret reduced to an oblong obtuse sub-2-nerved sparingly ciliolate valve. Upper floret hermaphrodite: valve reduced to a subchartaceous extremely slender stipe usually without any lobes and passing gradually into a fine bristle, including it 2 1/2 lin. long. Anthers 3/4 lin. long. Pedicelled spikelets neuter, lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, 1 1/3 lin. long; lower glume subherbaceous with 5–3 intracarinal nerves; upper membranous, white, 1- to sub-3-nerved; florets usually quite suppressed.
