Plant probably shortly rhizomatous. Culms solitary or few, very slender, 30–45 cm, 2–3-noded. Leaf blades narrowly linear, often involute when dry, 5–17 cm, ca. 0.3 mm wide; ligule 2–4 mm, truncate-erose. Panicle contracted, linear-oblong in outline, 3.8–5 cm; branches very short, with few spikelets. Spikelets oblong-ovate, 3–5 mm, yellow or purplish; glumes unequal, lower glume ovate, ca. 3 mm, upper glume oblong-ovate, as long as spikelet; lower florets sterile, composed only of lemmas, pilose on back, apex 2-lobed, lobes truncate-ciliolate; first lemma 3–3.8 mm, lobed in upper 1/3, awned from sinus, awn straight, 1.7–1.8 mm; second lemma 3.9–4 mm, awned from lower 1/4, awn geniculate, 6–6.7 mm; fertile floret ca. 2.3 mm, smooth, shiny; palea 1-veined.