Tall, pallid tussock with inflorescences pink-tinged; laminae persisting on leaf sheath or caducous at ligule. Sheaths glabrous or internerves with long or short hairs, entire, becoming fibrous, keeled, usually with tuft of hairs at apex. Ligule to 1 mm. Lamina keeled, flat or U-shaped or involute, abaxially glabrous but sometimes with long hairs on emergent laminae, scabrous apically, adaxially usually with prickle teeth or less frequently papillae; margin usually with long hairs below, becoming prickle-toothed. Culms to 1 m, internodes glabrous, Inflorescence glabrous, or glabrous below becoming scabrous or stiff hairy above,some long hairs (5mm) at branch axils and some short hairs below spikelet, sometimes branches and pedicels with mixed short and long hain. Spikelets of up to 9 lightly purpled or straw-coloured florets. Glumes chartaceous glab- rous, acute, < nearest lemma lobes; lowerto 11 mm, 1-3-5-nerved, upper to 14 mm, 5-7-9-nerved. Lemma to 6 mm; hairs dense on margin and aside central nerve, fewer or absent elsewhere, < sinus; lateral lobes to 6 mm including awn to 3 mm, or usually long triangular-acute; central awn to 16 mm from 2 mm twisting or flat column. Palea to 8 mm. Callus to 1.5 mm, hairs to 3 mm. Rachilla to 1 mm. Lodicules to 1 mm. Anthers to 5 mm. Gynoecium: ovary to 1 mm, stigma-styles to 3 mm. Caryopsis to 3.5 mm.

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Plant 80-150 cm tall; basal leaf sheath straw coloured to ± purple, remaining more or less compressed and straight on drying; leaf lade 50-100 cm long, rather strict, narrow, ± V-shaped in transverse section, margins rather thin, glabrous; abaxial sclerenchyma of blade ± continuous; silica cells ± round; panicle rather small; spikelets 4-6-flowered; lemma hairy on back; awn basal part flattened and twisted.

Gramen 80-150 cm altum; infimi folii vagina straminea vel ± purpurea, siccitate plus minusve compressa rigidaque; lamina 50-100 cm longa, strictior, angusta, V-formis in sectione transversa, marginibus tenuioribus, glabris; laminae schlerenchyma abaxiale ± continuum; cellulae siliceae rorundae; panicula parvula; spiculae 4—6-florae; lemma dorso pilosum; arista infra complanata toraque.