Perennial, densely tufted, up to over 3 ft. high, densely coated at the base with the remains of the basal sheaths which at length break up into fibres, sometimes sending out short stolons or runners. Culms erect or more often geniculately ascending, slender, 2–3-noded, the upper node up to 3–6 in. or more from the base, simple, glabrous and smooth except at the upper end of the peduncle which is more or less rough along the sharply projecting ribs and villous close to the base of the inflorescence. Leaf-sheaths rather tight, the basal firm, more or less compressed and keeled all along or at least upwards, loosely and stiffly hairy or quite glabrous, eciliate, rarely more densely hairy towards the mouth and there bearded, the lower short, the uppermost 3–6 (rarely more) in. long; ligule very short, ciliate; blade linear from an equally wide base, tapering to an acute slightly callous point, mostly 2 1/2–6 in. long by 1 1/2–2 1/2 lin. wide, rarely the upper up to over 9 in. long by 1 1/2 lin. wide, green, with long fine hairs above the ligule or all over on the upper surface, rarely quite glabrous, more or less rough upwards and along the margins, midrib very slender, prominent below, primary lateral nerves 3–4 on each side, fine. Inflorescence a very dense continuous cylindric false spike, 2–8 in. long by 2 lin. wide (exclusive of the bristles), mostly fulvous, rarely purplish-brown; axis slender, subterete, minutely tomentellous; branches reduced to sessile involucres, supporting solitary (rarely 2–3) spikelets; bristles 8–12, fine, finely scaberulous, 2–3 lin. long, concolorous, brightly fulvous to purplish-brown; pedicels reduced to short stumps with minute discoid tips. Spikelets elliptic-oblong, subacute or almost obtuse in back view, semi-elliptic or semi-ovate in profile, about 1 lin. long by 2/3– 3/4 lin. wide (in back view, slightly less wide in profile), glabrous, pale or variously tinged with greyish-purple. Glumes very thinly membranous, somewhat rigid and tight; lower rotundate-ovate, obtuse, up to half the length of the spikelet, 1–3-nerved; upper broadly ovate, acute, up to two-thirds the length of the spikelet, 3-nerved, rarely sub-5-nerved. Lower floret ♂: valve very thin and corresponding in size and outline to the spikelet, rather flat and slightly depressed along the midnerve, 5-nerved; valvule almost as long as the valve, keels marginate; anthers 1/2 lin. long. Upper floret hermaphrodite, oblong or elliptic-oblong, acute or subacute, slightly over 1 lin. long by 2/3 lin. wide, very pale or slightly greenish and livid purplish upwards: valve and valvule thinly crustaceous, both, or at least the former, finely transversely rugose.
