2n = 28

Erect ± open tufts to 100 cm, with flat dull green leaves usually « culms and long, narrow-lanceolate, silvery panicles; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath to 5 cm, often pubescent or puberulous, sometimes minutely prickle-toothed or glabrous, upper sheaths usually with long fine soft scattered retrorse hairs. Ligule 1-1.5 mm, erose or lacerate, shortly stiff-ciliate, abaxially often with minute hairs. Leaf-blade 3-15 cm × 1-7 mm, sometimes with scattered long hairs, abaxially glabrous to minutely scabrid above, adaxially finely ribbed, ribs minutely prickle-toothed; margins scabrid, sometimes with scattered long hairs. Culm 9-60 cm, internodes mainly glabrous but usually with soft hairs above and below nodes, scabrid to puberulous below panicle and often with a few long hairs, occasionally pubescent to villous throughout. Panicle 3-15-(24) × 0.5-2 cm, lanceolate-oblong, ± spike-like and rachis visible, or lower branches sometimes slightly distant, narrowly branched, each branch bearing few spikelets crowded to base; rachis usually scabrid, sometimes smooth or pubescent, lower nodes often with tufts of long hairs, branches scabrid or sometimes pubescent. Spikelets 5.5-8 mm, light green, purplish or brownish tinged. Glumes subequal, membranous, keels with prickle-teeth in upper ½; lower ≤ upper, elliptic-oblong to elliptic, upper ≈ spikelet, wider elliptic; margins very minutely prickle-toothed near acute or sometimes finely mucronate tip. Lemma 5-6.5 mm, bidentate to shortly bicuspid, closely finely scabrid with prickle-teeth more prominent near keel; awn 4-7 mm, slightly to strongly recurved, insertion in upper ¼ of lemma. Palea minutely prickle-toothed on keels throughout, on flanks, and on margins above. Callus hairs to 0.5 mm. Rachilla hairs to 1 mm. Lodicules c. 1 mm, glabrous. Anthers 0.8-1.3 mm. Gynoecium: ovary to 1 mm; stigma-styles to 2 mm. Caryopsis c. 2.7 × 0.8 mm.