Soft-leaved, green to bluish green perennial tufts, 3-100-(165) cm, with spreading culms. Leaf-sheath rounded, with dense, fine, soft, horizontally projecting hairs. Ligule 1-1.5 mm, rounded or truncate, shortly denticulate, sometimes with scattered fine hairs at margins or abaxially; in uppermost culm leaves tapered and more lacerate. Leaf-blade 10-20 mm × 3-7 mm, villous; margins finely scabrid, tip subobtuse. Culm usually geniculate at base, usually ascending, to ± erect, internodes glabrous. Panicle 10-20-(35) cm, nodding; branches slender, finely scabrid, lower branches becoming strongly reflexed and drooping, upper branches ascending. Spikelets 2-3.5 cm, 5-7-flowered, linear-lanceolate, usually purple-suffused, sometimes light green. Glumes unequal, acute, with dense, short, soft, straight hairs throughout; lower 6-7.5 mm, 3-5-nerved, narrow-lanceolate, upper 8-9.5 mm, 5-7-nerved, ovate-lanceolate. Lemma 9-12 mm, 7-9-nerved, keeled, densely, shortly hairy throughout, evenly light green to usually purple-suffused; awn 4-6 mm. Palea = or slightly > lemma. Callus with minute hairs. Rachilla scabrid to minutely pubescent. Anthers 0.5-0.8 mm in cleistogamous flowers, c. 3 mm in chasmogamous flowers. Caryopsis 8.1-8.8 × 1.5-1.8 mm.
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Annual, caespitose. Culms 25–75 cm high. Leaves: basal sheaths densely pubescent; blade 9–33.5 cm long, 3–10 mm wide, puberulous to pubescent. Panicles erect, open or contracted, 5–18 cm long; primary inflorescence branches ±erect to slightly spreading. Spikelets erect, oblong, 15–27 mm long, with 6–9 bisexual florets; pedicel 0.5–12 mm long. Glumes subequal or unequal, keeled, densely and shortly villous; lower glume 6.2–8.5 mm long, 5-nerved; upper glume 7.5–9.7 mm long, 7-nerved. Callus blunt, sparsely and shortly puberulous. Basal lemma strongly laterally compressed, 8–11.5 mm long, keeled, 7-nerved, densely and shortly villous (hairs antrorsely spreading to appressed, up to 0.3 mm long); awn subapical, arising 0.1 mm below lemma tip, 3–6 mm long, slightly curved or straight, entered by 3 nerves. Palea equalling or shortly exceeding lemma, glabrous. Anthers 0.5–1.2 mm long.