Tall annual, with fibrous roots. Stems erect, rigid, sharply 5-angular, grooved, glabrous, scabrid below the inflorescence, leafy at the base, 50-130 cm by 2-4 mm. Leaves shorter than the stems, flat, when dry with inrolled margins, rigid, long-acuminate, several-nerved beneath with prominent midnerve, asperulous above by short, white, bulbous-based hairs, 2½-3 mm wide; ligule a dense fringe of white or ferrugineous hairs; sheaths pubescent in the upper part. Inflorescence decompound, ovoid, loose, with numerous spikelets, 8-24 by 6-20 cm. Involucral bracts c. 5, the lower ones similar to the leaves, somewhat shorter to slightly longer than the inflores-cence, scabrid on the margins, scarious-margined at the dilated, hairy base, 10-25 cm long, the upper ones gradually shorter. Primary rays 6-9, unequal, obliquely spreading, 5-angular, scabrid, the longest 5-12 cm; secondary rays 2½-5 cm, penducles of the spikelets ½-1 cm. Spikelets solitary, ovoid, finally oblong-ovoid, subterete, acutish, densely many-flowered, 2½-3 mm wide, finally 8-9 mm long; rachilla winged. Glumes spiral, membranous, appressed, broadly ovate, obtuse, muticous or minutely apiculate, densely ciliolate, ferrugineous with 3-nerved green keel and white margin, c. 2 by 2 mm. Stamens 3; anthers oblong-linear, 1-1⅔ mm long. Style triquetrous, slightly thickened at the base, ciliate in the upper part, ⅔-1 mm; stigmas 3, much longer than the style. Nut trigonous, obovoid, minutely umbonulate, broadly stipitate, trabeculate, sparsely verrucose, white, ⅔-¾ by 2/5-½ mm; epidermal cells transversely linear, in 4-5 rows on each face.
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