Tall, erect, wiry, open perennial tussock, shoots slightly swollen at base; branching extravaginal; cataphylls glabrous shining. Leaf-sheath to 5 cm, with scattered retrorse long hairs, terminating in a small tuft of hairs to 1 mm. Ligule to 0.5 mm, apex shortly ciliate. Leaf-blade to 35 cm × 1 mm diam., usually inrolled, nerves few, abaxially finely antrorsely scabrid especially near margins, some few stiff long hairs towards base, adaxially with abundant long (0.5 mm) and short hairs, margins with long hairs at base becoming scabrid from small prickle-teeth above. Culm to 1 m, stout, nodes dark retrorsely pubescent, internodes pilose below nodes elsewhere smooth and shining, leaf-sheath with contra-ligule. Panicle to 35 cm, loosely contracted, subtended by hairy bract to 1 mm; rachis smooth becoming scabrid towards apex, branches and pedicels short stiff hairy. Glumes subequal, nerves conspicuously raised, straw coloured, scabrid, internerves purple-suffused, margins short hairy, tips membranous and erose, < awn column; lower to 12 mm, 3-nerved, much shorter than awn column, upper to 11 mm, 5-nerved. Lemma to 6.5 mm, very dark brown at maturity, tubercular scabrid, hairy below glabrous above, lobes 0; coma 0; awn to 50 mm, 2-geniculate, column short hairy, tightly twisted below less so above to 30 mm, arista to 20 mm. Palea weakly 2-nerved, internerve hairy sometimes slightly so, apex glabrous. Callus to 1.5 mm, golden hairs to 2 mm. Lodicules 2, ligulate, to 1.75 mm. Anthers in cleistogamous flowers, 2 small (0.5 mm) the third to 1.1 mm. Cleistogamous flowers only known.