Perennial, from an oblique copiously rooting rhizome, up to over 3 ft. high, with extravaginal innovations, sometimes growing out into short stolons, with papery cataphylls. Culms erect, somewhat stout, terete, 3-noded, with the uppermost node about the middle, simple above the base, terete, smooth and glabrous. Leaf-sheaths rather loose, terete, not keeled, closely striate, the lower 2 or 3 crowded at the base, wide, spongy, papery, glabrous or very scantily and shortly hairy, the outermost of them about 1 in., the innermost up to 6 in. long, the following tighter, firmer and more herbaceous, up to over 9 in. long, all with short rounded auricles or shoulders at the mouth; ligules very short, membranous; blades filiform, convolute, with slender slightly blunt tips, nearly 1 ft. long, 1/2– 3/4 lin. in diam., flattened out 1–1 1/2 lin. wide, flexuous, quite smooth and glabrous or more or less hairy inside and above the ligule, midrib very slender, like the nerves obscure upwards. False spike on a long-exserted peduncle, cylindric, straight or slightly curved, interrupted downwards, otherwise compact or here and there looser, 3 to over 9 in. by 2 1/2–3 lin.; pedicels with a few minute hairs, 1/2 lin. long, discoid tips minute. Spikelets broad-ovate in outline, subacute or acute, rather symmetrical, about 1 lin. by slightly over 1/2 lin., olive-green or brownish, with darker nerves and tips (the extreme point of the latter, however, sometimes snow-white), glabrous. Glumes membranous, finely but prominently nerved; lower broadly ovate, clasping at the base, often slightly gibbous at the base when ripe, 5- to sub-7-nerved; upper ovate (in back view), subacute or acute, with or without a fine hyaline margin near the tip, 7-nerved. Lower floret ♂: valve very similar to the upper glume, but usually more obtuse, 9–11-nerved; valvule oblong, acute, three-quarters the length of the valve; anthers 2/3– 3/4 lin. long. Upper floret hermaphrodite, elliptic-oblong, acute, 3/4 lin. by 2/5 lin., white, polished.
