perennial, almost glabrous; culms tufted on a short oblique rhizome, erect, 1–2 ft. long, terete, simple, slender, rough below the nodes, about 3-noded, internodes usually enclosed except the uppermost; leaves crowded near the base; sheaths tight, terete, scaberulous or smooth, firm, the lowest reduced to bladeless scales; ligule a membranous, ciliolate rim; blades linear, tapering to an acute point, 3–7 in. by 2–3 lin., rigidly erect, flat or convolute, with scattered stiff hairs, particularly near the base, rough on both sides, glaucous; panicle contracted, obovate to linear-oblong, 2–6 in. long, glaucous, purplish; rhachis scabrid, angular; branches simple, solitary or paired, subflexuous, bearing spikelets from the base or almost so, lowest up to 2 in. long; spikelets 2–3-flowered, subsecund, 2-ranked, lower slightly exceeding the internodes, upper closer, shortly but distinctly pedicelled, about 2 1/2 lin. long; glumes subequal, lanceolate, acute, 2–2 1/4 lin. long, minutely scabrid, margins and tips hyaline; valves up to 2 1/4 lin. long, entire, acute or very minutely 2-toothed, very shortly awned from below the readily splitting pruinose tips, nerves silky-ciliate to the middle (at least in the lower floret); callus minute, acute, bearded; pales obtuse, not quite 2 lin. long, keels scabrid; anthers 1 lin. long; grain oblong-linear, terete, 1 lin. long. null
