A densely tufted perennial. Culms erect from a slightly geniculate base, 4–5 ft. high, slender, terete, simple, up to 4-noded, sparsely pilose towards the nodes or glabrous and smooth. Leaf-sheaths tight, much shorter than the internodes, striate, the lowermost villous at the base, upper shortly bearded at the nodes and stiffly pilose all over, or glabrous and smooth; ligule a minutely ciliolate rim; blade narrowly linear, tapering to a flexuous setaceous tip, 4–15 in. long, convolute or opening out and up to 1 1/2 lin. wide, ascending, prominently nerved, glabrous and smooth, or shortly and stiffly pilose from minute tubercles. Panicle erect, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, rather dense, 9–10 in. long, 1 1/2–3 in. wide; rhachis glabrous and smooth, or pubescent; branches suberect, finely filiform to capillary, divided a short distance above the base, pubescent or glabrous, the lower up to 2 1/2 in. long, clustered or semi-verticillate, the upper paired or solitary; lateral pedicels 1/4–1 lin. long. Spikelets mostly paired, narrowly oblong and gaping, 4–7 lin. long, yellowish-brown. Glumes chartaceous, 3-nerved, glabrous or rarely with a few short tubercled-based hairs near the margins; lower narrowly ovate, acuminate to setaceously acuminate, 2–3 3/4 lin. long; upper narrowly lanceolate, long-acuminate, 3 3/4–5 3/4 lin. long. Lower floret ♂: valve lanceolate, tapering to a long setaceously acuminate tip, 4–7 lin. long, 3-nerved with the lateral nerves near the margins, chartaceous, glabrous; valvule linear, obtuse, 2 1/2–3 lin. long, membranous, with the keels very narrowly winged below the middle. Upper floret linear: callus linear, truncate or slightly emarginate, 1/4 lin. long, densely bearded; valve 1 1/2–2 lin. long, shortly bifid, with the lobes up to 1/6 lin. long, minutely pubescent, chartaceous, finely 9-nerved; awn slender, 1–1 1/2 in. long; column brown, 1/2– 3/4 in. long, minutely pubescent; valvule linear, emarginate, 1 1/2–1 3/4 lin. long. Anthers 3, 3/4–1 1/4 lin. long.
