perennial; culms erect, simple or branched near the base, slender, 2–3 ft. long, glabrous or pubescent and sometimes with long soft hairs near the panicle, 5- or more-noded with the lower internodes short and enclosed when simple; branches few-noded; sheaths tight, keeled above, striate, glabrous or hairy to hirsute, lower firm, persistent, often strongly compressed; ligule a ciliate rim; blades linear or linear-lanceolate from a long attenuate base, tapering to a fine point, 3–12 in. by 1 1/2–6 lin., closely plicately folded when young, at length opening out (folds 8–12), usually glabrous, scaberulous above; panicle linear to oblong, usually almost spike-like, often interrupted or lobed, dense or lax, 2–6 in. long; axis angular, pubescent; branches alternate or irregularly approximate, 2–12 lin. long, filiform, wavy, puberulous, simple or divided from near the base; bristles solitary, fine, scaberulous, wavy, 1–5 lin. long, terminating the branches and branchlets, or sometimes in fascicles at the base of the branches or solitary at the base of the lower spikelets; pedicels very short, tips discoid; spikelets ovate-oblong, acute, 1–1 1/4 lin. long, glabrous, light green or tinged with purple; glumes membranous, broadly ovate, obtuse, lower 5- to sub-7-nerved, rather less than 1/2 as long as the spikelet, upper 7-nerved, equalling about 3/4 the length of the spikelet; lower floret ♂, equalling the spikelet; valve membranous, broadly elliptic, obtuse, 7-nerved; pale subequal to the valve, with narrowly winged keels; hermaphrodite floret elliptic-oblong, acute, equalling the lower floret; valve subcoriaceous, 5-nerved, pallid or purplish, particularly upwards, finely and closely transversely wrinkled; anthers 1/2 in. long. null
