perennial; culms tufted on a short præmorse rhizome, erect, rather firm, simple, up to more than 3 ft. long, glabrous or hairy below the racemes, 1–3-noded, the uppermost internode by far the longest; leaves mainly crowded near the base; lower sheaths rather firm, strongly striate, adpressedly hairy to tomentose at the base, persistent, at length breaking up into fibres, upper thinner, hairy or glabrous except the bearded nodes, uppermost very long, rather loose; ligules up to 1 1/2 lin. long, obtuse or truncate; blades linear, tapering to a fine point, 1/2–1 ft. by 2–4 lin., flat or with involute margins, rigid or almost flaccid, scabrid, glabrous or softly hairy; racemes 5- to many, solitary or fascicled on a scabrid or hirsute angular common rhachis of variable length (the whole inflorescence 1/2–1 ft. long), slender, strict or flexuous, erect or more or less spreading, 2–5 in. long, villous at the base; rhachis subtriquetrous, wavy, very narrow, angular, angles rigidly ciliate, internodes up to 1 1/2 lin. long; spikelets in fascicles of 3–6, oblong, obtuse to subacute, 1–1 1/4 lin. long, pedicels unequal, up to 1 1/2 lin. long, setulose, uppermost hairs equalling the spikelets; lower glume 0; upper rotundate-ovate, obtuse, 1/3– 1/2 lin. long, hyaline, nerveless or 1-nerved; valves equal, lower membranous, whitish, oblong, glabrous, 3-nerved; upper chartaceous like the pale, brown to almost black, somewhat shining; anthers 1/2 lin. long. null
