Perennial, up to over 3 ft. high, densely tufted, on a short rhizome with elongate-conical extra- (and intra- ?) vaginal innovation-buds which are covered by glabrous firmly scarious cataphylls. Culms moderately stout, erect or slightly geniculate and suberect, simple, 4–5-noded, internodes mostly long-exserted, terete, quite glabrous and smooth. Leaves glabrous or very sparsely hirsute, with tubercle-based hairs, particularly towards the basal margins of the blade; sheaths tight, more or less firm, striate particularly the basal; ligule very short, subhyaline, sparingly ciliolate; blades linear-lanceolate from an equally wide base, long-tapering to a hard slender point, 5–8 in. by 2–3 lin., or the lower linear-lanceolate, 1–4 in. by 3–5 lin., flat or convolute firm and rigid, smooth, very closely nerved, midrib and primary lateral nerves very slender and often obscurely differentiated. Panicle at first contracted and slightly nodding, ultimately quite erect, widely open and very loose, 9 to over 12 in. long and up to over 6 in. wide, quite glabrous, divided to the fourth or fifth degree, all the divisions finely filiform to capillary and scaberulous; primary axis slender, prominently striate, subterete and more or less smooth below, angular and scabrid upwards; primary branches solitary or approximate in pairs or whorls, the lower widely distant, half to two-thirds the length of the panicle, at length spreading at an angle of up to 45°, very loosely divided from 2–1 in. above the base, secondary branchlets up to over 2 in. long, more or less spreading, branching again after the manner of the primary, but permanently contracted, penultimate divisions usually 2-spiculate; pedicels with subcupular tips, the lateral of a pair very short to 1 lin. long, the terminal up to 4 lin. long. Spikelets lanceolate-oblong, with an acute and slender acumen, 1 3/4–2 lin. long, broadly rounded on the back, green or tinged with dull purple, glabrous. Glumes very unequal; lower broadly ovate, acute or obtuse, when flattened out wider than high, one-quarter to one-fifth the length of the spikelet, hyaline, 1-nerved or almost nerveless except for some extremely short side-nerves; upper corresponding in shape and size to the spikelet, membranous, acumen subulate, 7–9-nerved, nerves prominent upwards. Lower floret ♂ or more often barren; valve as long or almost as long as the upper glume and very like it; valvule shorter, elliptic-oblong to oblong, acute; anthers if present rudimentary or perfect and up to 1 1/2 lin. long. Upper floret hermaphrodite, elliptic-oblong when ripe, subacute, up to over 1 1/4 lin. by 5/8 lin., pale brown, smooth and glossy; valve and valvule thinly crustaceous.
