Robust, light green, rather coarse-leaved perennial tufts, 60-200 cm, with spreading culms and heavy panicles. Leaf-sheath softly villous with long, silvery hairs. Ligule 1.5-2.5 mm, denticulate, abaxially glabrous. Leaf-blade 16-40 cm × 5-11 mm, with few, scattered, fine hairs; margins minutely scabrid, tip fine, acute. Culm ascending to ± erect, internodes glabrous. Panicle 8-30 cm, with stiffly erect to later spreading, finely scabrid branches. Spikelets 2.5-4 cm, 7-8-flowered, light green. Glumes unequal, acute; lower 7.5-10 mm, 5-7-nerved, very shortly appressed-pubescent, upper 11-12 mm, 7-9-nerved, usually more glabrous but finely scabrid on keel. Lemma 11.5-14.5 mm, 9-13-nerved, keeled, usually appressed scabrid-pubescent in upper ½, more glabrous and sometimes purple-suffused below; awn 3.5-9 mm. Palea very slightly < lemma. Callus with minute hairs. Rachilla scabrid. Anthers c. 0.5 mm in cleistogamous flowers. Caryopsis c. 9.5 × 2 mm.

Light green, rather slender, perennial tufts, 40-90 cm, with drooping panicles bearing noticeably bicoloured cream and green spikelets. Lower leaf-sheaths rounded, upper sheaths obviously keeled above, very densely villous. Ligule 1.5-2 mm, denticulate, abaxially often with long hairs near base and margins, or scabrid. Leaf-blade 12-22 cm × 3-7 mm, with ± scattered, fine, soft, straight hairs; margins very finely scabrid, tip subobtuse. Culm geniculate at base to erect, internodes glabrous, but slightly pubescent just below nodes. Panicle 12-30 cm, nodding, with slender, finely scabrid branches. Spikelets 1.5-3.5 cm, 5-9-flowered, elliptic-lanceolate to ± oblong, pale cream with noticeably green-tipped lemmas. Glumes very unequal, acute or subacute, with very short, appressed, silvery hairs, hyaline margins minutely scabrid; lower 4-4.5 mm, 3-(5)-nerved, elliptic-lanceolate, upper 6-6.5 mm, 7-nerved, more broadly ovate-lanceolate. Lemma 9.5-10 mm, 7-9-nerved, keeled, very shortly appressed-pubescent throughout, later papillose on basal cream to yellowish green portion, brighter green above, upper ⅓ of nerves reddish or bordered with green, margins and awn often reddish-tinged; awn 4.5-5 mm. Palea ≥ lemma. Callus with extremely minute hairs. Rachilla extremely minutely appressed-pubescent. Anthers 0.7 mm in cleistogamous flowers. Caryopsis 5.8-6.4 × 1.1-1.4 mm.