Perennial, from a slender elongated rhizome. Culms erect or ascending, up to 3 1/2 ft. high, slender to somewhat stout, branched near the base, or simple, 4- (or more-) noded, glabrous and smooth. Lower leaf-sheaths loose, membranous, usually golden-brown, smooth, glabrous, or hairy towards the blade or all over, the intermediate and upper finally shorter than the internodes, striate, green, smooth, mostly quite glabrous; ligule oblong, 1–2 lin. long, becoming lacerate; blade linear, acute, up to 1 1/2 ft. or more long, 1 1/2–4 1/2 lin. wide, flat, green, firm, glabrous, or sparingly hairy on the upper surface, scabrid on the nerves or almost smooth. Panicle narrow, flexuous, rather loose, 5 1/2–10 in. long, 1/3– 3/4 in. wide; rhachis slender, minutely scaberulous upwards; branches usually paired, erect, divided from the base, loosely spiculate, filiform, flexuous, scaberulous upwards, the lower up to 2 in. long, the remainder gradually shorter; pedicels scaberulous, the lateral very short, the terminal elongated. Spikelets appressed to the branches, narrowly oblong, 6 1/2–7 1/2 lin. long, green. Glumes finely acute, herbaceous, with hyaline margins, scabrid on the keel; lower narrowly lanceolate, 2–3 lin. long, 1-nerved; upper lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, 2 1/2–4 lin. long, 3-nerved. Florets 3–4, loose, the uppermost more or less reduced; rhachilla-internodes 1 1/2–2 lin. long, scaberulous, hairy towards the tips with hairs up to 1 1/2 lin. long; callus obtuse, up to 1/2 lin. long, bearded with hairs up to 3/4 lin. long. Valves long-exserted, linear-lanceolate and finely acute in profile, the lower 4–6 lin. long, herbaceous, with narrow hyaline margins, 7-nerved, with the nerves raised and minutely scaberulous towards the tips, glabrous, minutely granular downwards, 2-fid; lobes narrowly lanceolate, finely acute, each passing into a fine bristle and including it 1–1 1/2 lin. long; awn from near the apex, up to 10 lin. long, not or only slightly geniculate, flexuous; column about 2 lin. long, not or only slightly twisted; bristle whitish, very fine. Valvules oblong-linear, 2 1/2–3 1/2 lin. long, with the keels ciliolate. Anthers 1 lin. long. Ovary usually hairy at the apex. Grain 1 1/2–2 lin. long.