culms erect or ascending, 2–4 ft. long, simple or sometimes branched (branches intravaginal), many-noded, internodes shortly exserted, glabrous, smooth; sheaths tight, glabrous, smooth or somewhat rough, striate; ligule up to 1/4 lin. long, truncate, ciliolate, soon evanescent; blades lanceolate-oblong from a rounded abruptly constricted base, acute, 1–3 in. by 3–6 lin., flat or involute, smooth or finely scaberulous below, glaucescent, finely many-nerved, primary nerves about 7 on each side; panicle spike-like, 2–8 in. by 1/2– 3/4 in., pallid or faintly purplish, very dense; branches up to 1 in. long, branched from the villous base; branchlets 5–1-spiculate, up to 3 lin. long; spikelets crowded, adpressed, 5–9-flowered, up to 3 lin. long; rhachilla very slender; glumes reddish, subhyaline, the lower lanceolate, acuminate, mucronate, about 1 1/4 lin. long, the upper linear-oblong, about 1 3/4 lin. long; valves 1 1/4 lin. long, pubescent below the middle, long and finely ciliate along the side-nerves; anthers 1/5 lin. long, ovate; grain linear, obtusely triquetrous, less than 1/2 lin. by less than 1/8 lin. null
