Tall, erect, fine, perennial tussock, shoots very close set, slightly swollen at base; branching extravaginal, cataphylls hairy. Sheath to 10 cm, thin, very shortly retrorse pilose, occasionally with some long hairs. Ligule 0.2 mm, ciliate. Lamina to 25 cm × 1 mm diam., weakly rolled, nerves few, stiff, abaxially finely retrorsely scabrous from columns of small prickle teeth between nerves, adaxially with abundant prickle teeth and some few long hairs, margins with antrorse prickle teeth and occasional long (1 mm) hairs. Culms to 60 cm, nodes retrorsely pilose, internodes below nodes densely retrorse-pilose, elsewhere sparsely scabrous. Inflorescence to 30 cm, narrow, subtended by tuft of hairs to 1.5 mm; branches short, rachis, branches and pedicels with short stiff hairs. Glumes unequal, purple fading brown below, produced into hyaline awn-like processes to 2 mm, scabrous on nerves and above, > awn column, lower to 20 mm, 3-nerved, upper to 14 mm, 5-nerved. Lemma to 7 mm, with dense white hairs, lobes minute (0.1 mm) ciliate; coma to 2 mm; awn to 50 mm, 1-geniculate, column to 10 mm tightly twisted, with short hairs, arista to 40 mm. Palea weakly 2- nerved, intemerves with few hairs, apex ciliate or fimbriate. Callus to 2 mm, hairs to 3 mm. Lodicules 3, ligulate or emarginate, posterior and anterior equal, to 1.3 mm, or posterior shorter, nerved. Anthers to 4 mm, penicillate. Chasmogamous.