Perennial, up to over 3 ft. high; innovations extravaginal with thin pubescent cataphylls. Culms ascending sometimes from a long straggling rooting base with elongated more or less compressed arching internodes, sending up erect simple or sparingly branched secondary culms; primary culms (except the prostrate base) or secondary culms 4–5-noded, quite glabrous, lower internodes often somewhat compressed, shortly exserted. Leaf-sheaths tight, those supporting branches at length slipping off the culms and often wrapped round the former, all very pale, smooth and glabrous except along the densely villously ciliate margins or with few fine tubercle-based hairs, nodes pubescent to silkily bearded; ligules reduced to a densely ciliate rim; blades lanceolate from a rounded or subcordate and semi-amplexicaul base, tapering to an acute point, 2 1/2–3 in. by 6–7 lin., rarely much larger (up to 6 in. by 11 lin.), flat, slightly rigid, pale green, glabrous and smooth except the scabrid cartilaginous and often undulate or crisped margins, and some rigid long cilia towards the base, midrib and lateral nerves (5–6 on each side) very slender, the latter rather inconspicuous. Inflorescences terminal, long-exserted on a slender peduncle, of 4–7 obliquely erect or spreading somewhat slender sessile or subsessile spiciform secund racemes; common axis slender, 1 1/2–3 in. long, semiterete below, flattened upwards, glabrous or here and there with a few very fine hairs, scaberulous along the angles. Racemes moderately dense to almost loose, 2- or indistinctly pluriseriate, simple, solitary, the lower and intermediate to over 2 in. long and about equidistant, the uppermost much shorter and more approximate; rhachis almost straight, rather flat, 1/5 to over 1/4 lin. wide, subtriquetrous with the facial angles low, hairy at the base, glabrous or sparingly setose upwards, angles scabrid, internodes 1/2 to over 3/4 lin. long; pedicels reduced to subterete stumps or the longer of a pair distinctly elongated and up to over 1/2 lin. long, usually with some fine white bristles below the discoid tips. Spikelets of each rank discontiguous, ovate-lanceolate, acutely acuminate, 2 lin. long, pale greyish-pubescent or quite glabrous. Glumes very dissimilar, membranous; lower broad-ovate, clasping at the base, acute, 3/4 lin. long, 3- or sub-5-nerved, tips of nerves more or less anastomosing; upper glume corresponding in size and outline to the spikelet, prominently though finely 7–9-nerved. Lower floret barren: valve very similar to the upper glume, somewhat flat on the back, 5-nerved; valvule broad-oblong, acuminate, somewhat shorter than the valve. Upper floret hermaphrodite, broad- to rotundate-elliptic in outline, about 1 lin. long, pale, very delicately wrinkled or granulate; valve with a scaberulous mucro 3/8 lin. long.
