Perennial. Culms tufted, erect, rigid, 30–90 cm tall, ca. 2 mm in diam., many-noded, a line of glands below node. Leaf sheaths glabrous and smooth, long pilose along summit; ligules a line of hairs; leaf blades flat, lanceolate, 4–17 × 0.3–0.5 cm, glabrous. Panicle dense, cylindrical, 1.5–7 × 0.5–1.5 cm, densely hirsute in axils of basal branch. Spikelets compressed, 4–6 × ca. 3 mm, 7–13-flowered; rachilla slender, disarticulated between florets from top to the base at maturity. Glumes membranous lanceolate, pubescent on back, ciliate along margin, apex mucronate; lower glume ca. 1.8 mm, upper glume 1.8–2 mm. Lemmas membranous, pubescent on back, ciliolate along the margins below, apex short pointed, lower lemma 1.8–2.5 mm. Palea slightly shorter than lemma, margin ciliate, along 2 keels long ciliate, the cilia 0.8–1.6 mm. Stamens 2; anthers ca. 0.4 mm. Caryopsis red brown, ovate, ca. 0.5 mm. Fl. and fr. winter.
Home