Annual (?); base and culm-leaves unknown, but see description of subtending leaves. Spatheate panicle foliate, lax, secund, somewhat nodding, up to over 2 1/2 ft. long, lowest internodes about 10 in. long, the following 2 or 3 between 5 and 6 in. long; primary branches forming 3- or upwards 4–5-rayed tiers; lowest tier of very unequal compound rays, the lowest up to over 1 ft. long and 2-noded, the following mixed or the uppermost of simple rays only; simple rays very unequal, from 4 to less than 1 in. long, glabrous; lowest subtending leaves resembling normal leaves, their spathes slightly inflated, glabrous and smooth; ligules scarious, truncate, ciliolate, up to 3/4 lin. long; blades linear, narrowed downwards to a rounded almost clasping base, tapering to a slender point, over 1/2 ft. by 2 1/2 lin., flaccid, pale green, glabrous or shortly and sparingly pubescent below, very rough all over; midrib slender, upper subtending leaves with spathaceous sheaths and rapidly reduced blades. Spatheoles cymbiform-lanceolate, setaceously long acuminate, 2–2 1/2 in. by 2 lin., very thinly scarious, pale tinged with livid purple, glabrous, at length loosely inrolled and narrow; peduncles slender, at length 3/4–1 in. long, quite glabrous, flexuous or slightly arched upwards or almost straight. Racemes permanently contiguous or subcontiguous, laterally exserted from the spatheole, up to 9 lin. long, greenish or brownish, glabrous, 4-awned per pair; raceme-bases very short, stout, dorsally compressed, pubescent in the fork, tardily disarticulating between the homogamous pairs, obliquely truncate; joints linear, filiform, up to over 1 lin. long, densely and shortly white-ciliate, tips truncate, not auricled; pedicels very similar, slightly longer. Homogamous pairs of spikelets 2 at the base of each raceme, forming an involucre. Fertile spikelets linear-lanceolate, subacuminate, including the callus 4 1/2 lin. long, pale green, flattened on the back, rounded on the sides; callus very slender and acute, 1 1/2 lin. long, shortly and densely bearded. Glumes equal, firmly chartaceous, lower 2-mucronulate, quite smooth except the short scaberulous subterminal keels, 11-nerved, nerves subequal, the inner 5 ending below the hyaline tips, margins involute up to the acumen; upper glume deltoid-acute, 3-nerved, reversedly ciliate upwards. Lower floret reduced to a hyaline oblong 2-nerved reversedly ciliate valve. Upper floret hermaphrodite: valve stipitiform, over 2 1/2 lin. long with a narrow hyaline margin adnate all along, awn from over 2–4 in. long, fulvous, column fulvously hairy, hairs up to 1 lin. long; valvule 0. Anthers 1 1/4 lin. long. Pedicelled spikelets ♂ or neuter, linear-lanceolate, acutely acuminate, 4 1/2 lin. long; lower glume thin, produced from between 2 minute teeth into a fine bristle (up to 10 lin. long), about 11-nerved, keels upwards scaberulous; upper glume shorter to much shorter, acute, 3-nerved, ciliate; valve of lower floret if fully developed linear-oblong, up to 4 lin. long, sub-3-nerved, reversedly ciliate, of the upper very much shorter or both greatly reduced; anthers 2 1/4 lin. long. Spikelets of the homogamous pairs similar to the pedicelled, but muticous, from 5–6 1/2 lin. long.
