Very robust, yellow-green or glaucous tufts, 75-150-(200) cm, with stout rhizomes, often forming large patches. Leaf-sheath glabrous or very sparsely very fine hairy, firmly chartaceous, yellowish, adaxially shining, shredding into fibres at maturity, with chartaceous glabrous auricles 1.5-3 mm. Ligule 1-2-(3.5) mm, rim-like, minutely ciliate. Leaf-blade 10-65 cm × 4.5-16 mm, flat, to involute above, abaxially sometimes with very short fine hairs above collar, otherwise glabrous, adaxially strongly ribbed and finely pubescent-scabrid there, narrowed to smooth, hard, pungent tip. Culm 50-110-(160) cm, stout, erect, internodes glabrous except below nodes. Spike 25-40-(50) × (1.5)-2-3.5 cm, stiff, erect, tapered above, spikelets in clusters of 3s to 5s at nodes, or occasionally some paired, well-spaced near base and imbricate above; rachis angled with fine hairs on angles. Spikelets 15-25 mm, 4-6-flowered, straw-coloured, included by glumes. Glumes equal, very narrow-lanceolate, 1-3-nerved, smooth, coriaceous, the long-acuminate tip produced into fine shining awn, becoming ± patent, asymmetric at base, margins sometimes sparsely scabrid, adaxially finely hairy especially centrally. Lemma 10-15.5 mm, 5-7-nerved, elliptic, abaxially silky-pubescent below, glabrous near acute apex, adaxially with appressed very short silky hairs. Palea ≈ lemma, interkeel glabrous, shortly ciliate at notched apex. Callus 0.5 mm, bearded with long hairs. Rachilla 3-4 mm, hairy. Lodicules 2 mm, very long ciliate. Anthers 4.5-6.5 mm, sometimes pollen-sterile. Gynoecium golden: ovary 2 mm, hair covered; stigma-styles 2.5 mm. Caryopsis c. 6.5 × 2 mm.