Perennials. Culms 60–80 cm high. Leaves mostly glabrous; sheaths overlapping; ligule c. 0.2 mm long; blade usually flat and c. 1.5 mm wide, straight, stiff. Panicles open, sparse, to 32 cm long and 8 cm wide; branches spreading, filiform, naked in lower 2 cm. Spikelets long-pedicellate, inflated to laterally compressed, ovate to oblong, 5–7 mm long, c. 3 mm wide, often olive-green; lowest 2 florets reduced to empty lemmas; sterile lemmas and their rachilla internodes persistent; rachilla flexuose, with biconvex internodes; florets 14–18, tightly overlapping. Glumes persistent, unequal, ovate, membranous to cartilaginous; lower glume 0.8–1 mm long; upper glume 1–1.4 mm long. Fertile lemmas ±orbicular, c. 2 mm long, strongly curved on back, obtuse, cartilaginous, 3-nerved, with lateral nerves often green. Palea: body ±orbicular, pouched; keels thick, with ciliolate wings, smooth. Stamens 3; anthers 0.4–0.5 mm long. Grain ovoid or oblong, not compressed, 0.6–0.7 mm long, striolate.
Home