Plant tufted. Leaves 80-200 × 3-5-7 cm, sheath thickly covered with scales; lamina long-acuminate, covered adaxially with transparent closely adherent pellicle and abaxially with scales and thickly felted wool. Peduncle c. 3-10-15 × 1-2 cm; panicle to 25-(30) × 15-(20) cm, often smaller, axes not of uniform diameter but each tapering notably (especially in ♀) along its length and everywhere wide in relation to flower diameter; subpanicles much branched, and ultimate racemes, of diverse lengths, sometimes very numerous (e.g., 30—70); flowers small, almost sessile; fruits orangered.

Planta robusta, foliorum fasciculis singularibus manifestis; folia longe acuminata, supra squamis appressis inconspicuis vestita, subtus squamis appressis et lana copiosissima implicataque omnino obtecta; vagina squamosa; panicula lata, rachides omnes, primarii, secundarii (et tertii qui rarius adsunt) apicem versus gradatim diminuti et maximam partem quam floris latitudine latiores; racemi longitudine diversi; flores parvi, ± sessiles, perianthio campanulato vix incrassato. A varietate nivicola differt foliis longioribus, longe attenuatis, supra pellicula tenuissima obtectis, racemis elongatis numerosis.

Lvs to 200 × 7 cm.; lamina very narrowly long-acuminate; adaxial surface bright green, the pellicle very delicate and inconspicuous, remaining attached even in old lvs, easily visible only in dried specimens. Infl. on stout peduncle; panicle to 20 × 20 cm. but us. smaller; most spathes subtending several racemes and branching of second order not uncommon, the total number of racemes sts as much as 70. Raceme-axes, especially in fr., tapering notably from base to tip.