Short, shiny tussock with stiff and widely spreading shoots and persistent leaves. Leaf-sheath to 15 cm, slightly keeled, pale yellow, persistent, becoming fibrous, margins above with long hairs, apical tuft of hairs to 2 mm. Ligule to 0.5 mm. Leaf-blade to 60 cm × 4 mm, flat to U-shaped, persistent, deflexed at collar, abaxially glabrous, adaxially with a weft of short hairs at base, abundant prickle-teeth above; margin with long hairs below, becoming shaggy, hairs mostly antrorse and appressed. Culm to 75 cm, internodes glabrous except for short, dense hairs below inflorescence. Inflorescence to 15 cm, congested with short branches, bristling with awns; rachis, branches and pedicels short soft hairy. Spikelets of up to 5 florets. Glumes to 13 mm, shortly awned, < adjacent lemma lobes, prickle-teeth above, otherwise glabrous; lower 1-3-nerved, upper 1-3-5-nerved. Lemma to 6 mm; hairs dense at margin and in all internerves, or sometimes only aside central nerve, > sinus; lateral lobes to 11 mm including strict awn to 8 mm, prickle-teeth adaxially and abaxially and on lemma margins; central awn to 22 mm much deflexed from twisting column to 4 mm. Palea to 8.5 mm, produced into two conspicuous narrow processes; prickle-teeth abaxially above. Callus to 1 mm, hairs to 5 mm. Rachilla to 1 mm. Lodicules to 1.75 mm. Anthers to 4.5 mm. Gynoecium: ovary to 1 mm; stigma-styles to 4 mm. Caryopsis to 3 mm. 2n= 42.
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