A loosely tufted perennial, from a many-noded creeping rhizome, 1 1/4–2 ft. high. Culms erect, or geniculate at the base, moderately slender, simple, 1–2-noded below the middle, glabrous, smooth, glandular towards the panicle. Leaf-sheaths loose, loosely to sparsely pilose with spreading hairs, or glabrescent, the lower pallid, rather broad, chartaceous-scarious; ligule a densely ciliate rim; blade narrowly linear, gradually tapering to a fine blunt tip, up to 10 in. long, 1–1 1/2 lin. wide, flat, somewhat flaccid and flexuous, loosely pilose or glabrescent, closely nerved on the upper surface, glandular-tuberculate on the margins towards the base. Panicle contracted, rather dense, 2 1/2–4 in. long, 1/2–1 in. wide; rhachis glandular with minute elliptic or circular glands, hairy in the axils; branches erect, paired, bare at the base for up to 1 in., closely spiculate above, capillary, glandular like the rhachis; pedicels 1–5 lin. long. Spikelets purple and green below the middle, whitish above, 3 1/2–4 1/2 lin. long. Glumes obliquely lanceolate in profile, acuminate, finely acute, subhyaline, glabrous, scaberulous on the keel above the middle, 1-nerved and with 2 very short lateral nerves at the base. Valves oblong-lanceolate in profile, 1 1/3–1 1/2 lin. long (entire part), loosely pubescent on the back and margins, and 7–9-nerved; lobes 1/3 lin. long, acute, each with a fine bristle 1 1/2—2 1/2 lin. long from the inner side; awn geniculate, 5 1/2–8 1/2 lin. long, with the column twisted and 1 1/4–1 3/4 lin. long, and with the bristle loosely twisted. Valvules linear-oblong, 2 lin. long. Anthers 1 1/4–1 1/2 lin. long. Grain 1 lin. long.
