Home
Stout and shortly rhizomatous and tufted (densely), up to 0.8 m high. tall. Leaf blades up to 150 mm long, up to 1 mm wide. Spikelets 20-35 mm long (including awns). Culms usually unbranched; leaves mainly basal, forming a dense basal tuft, enclosing culms for most of its length. Inflorescence contracted, dense, much-branched, branches not spreading more than 45° from main axis; glumes equal to subequal, often pubescent, lower glume mucronate; lemma narrowly lanceolate, tapering upwards, articulation absent; column long and twisted; awns 3, laterals shorter but well developed; callus tip naked, truncate to slightly emarginate.
Densely tufted to 800 mm high; rhizome stout, short; leaves mainly basal, curling, forming a dense basal tuft, enclosing the culms foremost of their length; culms usually unbranched. Leaf blade to 150 x to 1 mm. Inflorescence contracted, dense; much branched, branches not spreading more than 45 degrees from main axis. Spikelet 20-35 mm long (including awns); glumes equal to subequal, often pubescent, mucronate; lemma narrowly lanceolate, tapering upwards, articulation absent; column long and twisted; awns three, laterals shorter but well developed; callus apex naked, truncate to slightly emarginate; anther 3.4-3.6 mm long.
Lemma 6-7 mm. long, minutely scaberulous towards the apex; callus c. 0.5 mm. long, subobtuse or obtuse, shortly barbate; column 2-8 mm. long, twisted, scabrid; awns somewhat unequal, filiform, suberect or slightly spreading, scaberulous, the central 15-25 mm. long, the lateral ones 13-20 mm. long; articulation absent.
Glumes subequal, linear-lanceolate, 1-nerved, with a prominent glabrous or scabrid keel, scabrid or shortly hirtellous on the back, often with somewhat recurved apices; the inferior 5-9 mm. long, with a short awn up to 1·5 mm. long, the superior 5·5-9·5 mm. long, usually 2-fid, with a mucro from the sinus.
Panicle 6-15 cm. long, linear-oblong, usually lax and open, sometimes contracted; axis terete in the lower part, more or less angular upwards, slightly scaberulous; branches up to 4 cm. long, solitary or 2-nate, suberect, filiform, minutely scaberulous, with 1-3 spikelets.
Culms erect, slender, usually simple, rarely branched from the upper nodes, terete, glabrous, smooth or minutely scaberulous below the nodes, c. 3-4-noded; nodes glabrous, smooth.
Leaf-laminae up to 15 x 0·1-0·15 cm. (when expanded), erect or slightly curved, usually setaceously convolute, rather firm, minutely puberulous above, glabrous, smooth beneath.
Ligule a short-ciliolate rim; auricles minutely pubescent, sometimes with long hairs; collar minutely pubescent.
Leaf-sheaths usually tight, glabrous, smooth, persistent.
Perennial, usually c. 40 cm. high, densely caespitose.
