Perennial forming small tough tussocks, base clothed in old leaf sheaths. Culms erect, 10–40 cm tall, unbranched. Leaves mainly basal; leaf sheaths glabrous, shorter than internodes, laxly overlapping in clusters; leaf blades usually involute, curved, 3.5–15 cm, acute; ligule ca. 2 mm. Panicle linear, 3.5–9 cm; branches short, stiff, few-spiculate, inserted singly, appressed to main axis. Spikelets purple or brown; glumes subequal or slightly unequal with upper longer, 7–10 mm, 1-veined, scabrid on vein, lower glume narrowly lanceolate, subacute, upper glume linear-oblong, acute and mucronate; callus 0.5–0.8 mm, obtuse; lemma 6.5–8 mm, streaked purple-brown, smooth or upper part scabrid, narrowly tapering into apex; awns arising directly from lemma apex; central awn 4–8 mm, lateral awns much reduced, 1.1–3 mm. Anthers 3–4 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sep.
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