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Culms erect, or geniculate at base, tufted or solitary, up to 3 ft. high, slender, terete, simple or rarely branched, 2–3-noded, glabrous and smooth; lower internodes short, the upper long-exserted. Leaf-sheaths shorter than the internodes, terete, thin, ciliate or ciliolate on the margins, densely silky-pubescent at the nodes; ligule a densely ciliolate rim; blade contracted at the base, tapering to a setaceously acute tip, 1 1/2–6 in. long, 2–4 1/2 lin. wide, firm, green, puberulous to pubescent and sometimes sparsely to densely beset with long hairs, or the upper blades glabrescent, margins cartilaginous, scabrid and whitish, with one crinkled. Panicle 1 1/4–6 in. long, 4–5 lin. wide, pale green or purplish; branches very short, few-spiculate. Spikelets 3 1/2–4 lin. long. Lower glume 1 1/2–2 lin. long, with a capillary scaberulous terminal awn 2–3 1/2 lin. long, asperulous, usually sparsely hairy towards the tip with long stiff white hairs from minute tubercles; upper glume as long as the spikelet, with a mucro or awn up to 3/4 lin. long, glabrous. Lower floret: valve as long as the spikelet, pubescent, and with a few long stiff hairs above the middle; valvule 1 3/4–2 1/2 lin. long, pubescent, becoming rigid and woody, yellowish, with thin free margins. Upper floret: callus 1/5– 1/4 lin. long; valve 1 1/4–1 3/4 lin. long (entire part), acutely 2-lobed, with the lobes about 1/2 lin. long and each bearing a fine bristle 1/2– 3/4 lin. long, with one or two small tufts of hairs up to 1 lin. long near the margins a little below each lobe; awn 7–9 1/2 lin. long; column brown, scaberulous, 1 1/2–2 lin. long; valvule 1 3/4–2 lin. long. Anthers 1/3 lin. long. Grain 1 lin. long.