Small, compact, stiff tussocks; leaves semi-pungent usually < culms; new shoots intravaginal, occasionally ± swollen at base. Sheaths pale stramineous, usually with few scattered long stiff hairs; collar hairs to 2 mm long; ligule to 0.5 mm long; lamina to 12 cm long, tightly inrolled, with rather scattered long stiff hairs, margins scabrous. Culms up to 25 cm tall, glabrous, or minutely scabrous below inflorescence. Panicle short and broad, up to 2.5 cm long, with few broad spikelets on short pedicels; rhachis and pedicels with rather dense short hairs. Spikelets 3-flowered, awns included by glumes. Glumes purpled, ovate-lanceolate, broad at base, shortly narrowed towards subobtuse tip, 6.5-9 mm long, ± equal, lower 9-nerved, upper 7-9-nerved. Lemma 2-3 mm long, 7-9-nerved, upper row of hairs continuous, very dense, usually = lemma lobes, lower row usually indistinct, elsewhere with abundant short scattered hairs, adaxially with a triangular band of scattered hairs below sinus; lemma lobes 3-3.5 mm long, tapering to very short awn, occasionally lobes with a shallow subsidiary lobe. Central awn 3.5-5 mm long; column 1-1.5 mm long, < upper lemma hairs. Palea 3-3.5 mm long, much < upper lemma hairs, few short hairs scattered on lower half between keels, margins with 1-2 long hairs. Callus 0.5-0.7 mm long, marginal hair tufts long, abundant, much overlapping lower hairs. Rhachilla c. 0.2 mm long. Anthers c. 1 mm long. Caryopsis 1.5-1.7 × 0.7-0.9 mm; embryo 0.6- 0.9 mm long; hilum to 0.5 mm long. Naturalised in New Zealand from Australia.

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