A strongly aromatic rhizomatous perennial. Culms 12-75 cm. tall, 2-4-noded, erect or ascending from a decumbent base, simple or rarely branched from the lower nodes, terete, weak, rather slender, smooth, glabrous. Leaf-sheaths shorter than the internodes, rather tight at first, striate, smooth or reversedly scaberulous; the basal ones often with the laminas reduced to scales. Ligules 2-5 mm. long, scarious, whitish, obtuse, fringed with short cilia. Leaf-laminae 1-15 x 0.1-0.9 cm., linear or linear-lanceolate from a slightly auricled base, tapering to a very fine acute point, expanded or folded (usually towards the apex), glabrous or rarely scattered pilose, usually ciliate along the margins towards the base, finely asperulous on both surfaces. Panicles 2-9 cm. long, narrow, linear-oblong in outline, compact but sometimes interrupted in the lower part, shiny, pale green; rhachis terete, often sulcate towards the base, smooth, glabrous; branches binate or solitary, rarely in clusters, ascending to almost erect and appressed to the rhachis, glabrous, smooth. Pedicels short, with short spreading whitish hairs. Spikelets 5.5-7 mm. long (excluding the awns!), oblong-lanceolate in outline, pallid. Inferior glume c. 3.5 mm. long, 1-nerved, ovate when expanded, apex acute to acuminate, keels scabrous; superior glume 5-6.75 mm. long, 3-nerved, with the nerves close together thus leaving wide hyaline flanks, ovate when expanded, apex very acute to acuminate, keel scabrous. First and second lemmas golden yellow with silvery apices, covered with white sericeous hairs, keels scaberulous; the first c. 3.25 mm. long with the awn c. 1/3-1/2 the length of the body; the second c. 2.75 mm. long, with the awn up to twice as long as the body. Anthers of the first (male) floret c. 2.8 mm. long. Terminal lemma 2-3.5 mm. long, almost invisibly 5-nerved. Anthres c. 3.25 mm. long. Caryopsis c. 1.75 mm. long.