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Tall, very coarse, erect perennial tussock with a stout rootstock; branching extravaginal, cataphylls numerous. Sheath to 5 cm, with retrorse long weak hairs, terminating in a small tuft of white hairs to 1.5 mm. Ligule to 0.5 mm, shortly ciliate. Lamina to 30 cm × 5 mm, flat or weakly rolled, scabrous, abaxially with dense long hairs, adaxially with retrorse long hairs, margins with long hairs. Culms to 2 m, stout, smooth, compressed, nodes densely pubescent, internodes densely pubescent below nodes. Inflorescence to 40 cm, very open, verticels widely spaced; branches long, branches and pedicels shortly scabrous. Glumes unequal, 3-nerved, becoming purple-suffused, somewhat spreading, minutely scab-rous, tip erose or apiculate, < awn column, lower to 14 mm, upper to 9 mm. Lemma to 6 mm, fuscous, clothed in white hairs, lobes short (0.2 mm); coma to 3.5 mm; awn to 35 mm, stiffly hairy, 2- geniculate, column strongly twisted to 10 mm, less strongly so to 7 mm above, arista to 20 mm. Palea firm, darker than lemma, with long internerve hairs, apex erose. Callus 1 mm, off-white hairs to 2 mm. Lodicules 3,2 anterior to 1.5 mm, posterior to 1 mm, nerved. Anthers to 5.2 mm in chasmogamous flowers, to 1.5 mm in cleistogamous flowers, penicillate.