Perennial, 2–4 ft. high. Culms suberect, or ascending from a long slender and decumbent base, moderately slender, simple or rarely branched, 4–6-noded above the base, glabrous and smooth. Lower leaf-sheaths overlapping, finally breaking up, the lowest puberulous or glabrous, the upper striate, shorter than the internodes, glabrous, smooth, or asperulous upwards; ligule truncate, up to 2 lin. long, becoming lacerate; blade linear, tapering to a fine point, 5–10 in. long, 1 1/2–2 1/2 lin. wide, flat, green, glabrous, or rarely sparsely hairy above, minutely scaberulous above and on the margins. Panicle narrowly oblong, loose, flexuous, nodding, 4–10 in. long, up to 2 in. wide; rhachis filiform, scaberulous upwards; branches fascicled, unequal, flexuous, sparingly divided or simple, finely filiform, scaberulous, the lower up to 4 in. long; lateral pedicels 1 1/4–2 lin. long. Spikelets spreading, oblong or elliptic-oblong, 4–6 lin. long. Glumes acute, hyaline, scaberulous on the keel; lower narrow- or linear-lanceolate, 1 1/2–2 1/2 lin. long, 1-nerved; upper oblanceolate or narrowly oblong, 3–3 1/4 lin. long, 3-nerved. Florets 3–5, loose, the uppermost reduced; rhachilla-internodes 3/4–1 1/4 lin. long, conspicuously bearded above the middle with hairs 2 lin. long; callus obtuse, 1/4 lin. long, bearded. Valves long-exserted, oblong-lanceolate and acute in profile, the lower 3–3 1/2 lin. long, pale green, sometimes purplish just below the tips, rather thin, glabrous, finely 7-nerved, shortly bifid, with the lobes acute and sometimes bearing a fine short bristle; awn from the upper third of the valve, geniculate, 5–7 1/2 lin. long; column loosely twisted, 1 1/2–2 lin. long. Valvules oblong-linear, 2 1/2–3 lin. long, with scaberulous keels. Anthers 3/4–1 1/4 lin. long. Ovary puberulous above the middle and hispidulous at the top.
