Caespitose perennial arising from short underground rhizomes, the basal leaf-sheaths glabrous or very rarely obscurely puberulous; flowering culms wiry, typically 30–60 cm. high (1 m. or more in exceptionally robust plants), standing over a dense leafy tussock 10–20 cm. high. Leaf-blades narrowly linear to conduplicate and filiform, 2–15(–30) cm. long, 1–2(–4) mm. wide, flexuous, glaucous, harshly scaberulous. False panicle typically scanty, up to 30 cm. long, bearing 2–10 raceme-pairs or sometimes more; spatheoles linear-lanceolate, 3–8 cm. long, at length reddish, the peduncles about as long; racemes 2–4 cm. long, 8–13(–16)-awned per pair, white villous, never deflexed; raceme-bases unequal, the upper 2.5–5 mm. long, filiform, glabrous or more often pubescent to hirsute. Homogamous pairs 1 at the base of the lower or both racemes. Sessile spikelet 4–6.5 mm. long, white villous (occasionally the hairs rather sparse); callus 0.5–1.5 mm. long, subacute to acute; awn 10–35 mm. long, puberulous with white hairs 0.1–0.3 mm. long. Pedicelled spikelet white villous, muticous.