Culms up to 20 ft. high, many-noded, glabrous or pubescent below the panicle, more or less coated with wax below the nodes. Leaf-sheaths tight, terete, smooth, glabrous except when young; ligules very short, membranous, ciliate; blades linear-lanceolate, up to 5 ft. long, and over 2 in. wide, glaucous below and green above, more or less scabrid along the margins, midrib very stout, rounded on the back, more or less flat above. Panicle pyramidal, up to over 3 ft. long, dense, silvery; common rhachis glabrous except on the pubescent nodes, or more or less silky; primary branches verticillate or semiverticillate, glabrous or hairy, very slender. Racemes up to 4 in. long, very fragile, joints and pedicels filiform, more or less ciliate or glabrous, the former of varying length (the middle ones 2–3 lin. long), the latter much shorter. Spikelets lanceolate, 1 3/4–2 lin. long, surrounded from the callus by a tuft of long silky hairs, up to 5 lin. long. Glumes subequal, lanceolate, firm towards the base, otherwise subhyaline, the lower acute, 2-nerved to sub-4-nerved, glabrous, the upper very similar, 1- to 3-nerved, glabrous or ciliolate. Valve of lower floret oblong, acute or subacute, hyaline, nerveless, ciliate, about 1 1/2 lin. long; of upper subulate, ciliate, as long as the lower or 0. Valvule if present, very minute, obovate, ciliate. Lodicules broad, cuneate, sparingly ciliolate from the top. Anthers 3/4 lin. long. Styles 3/4 lin. long. Stigmas purplish, 1 lin. long. Grain oblong, attenuated upwards, subterete, 3/4 lin. long, flesh-coloured; embryo 1/6 the length of the grain.
