Lax, bluish green, perennial tufts, 15-35 cm, usually with narrow, involute leaves and very lax panicles; branching extravaginal, each shoot with 1-2 blunt-tipped sheaths at base and with the lowest leaf-blade often much reduced. Leaf-sheath submembranous, distinctly ribbed, smooth or sometimes scabrid above. Ligule (1.5)-2.5-4.5 mm, tapered above to acute tip or denticulate, abaxially scabrid. Leaf-blade 6-16 cm × 0.4-0.8 mm diam., inrolled, to 1.2 mm wide if flat, abaxially smooth to scabrid (especially near tip), adaxially finely scabrid; margins finely scabrid, tip fine, obtuse. Culm 10-15 cm, slender, usually included within uppermost leaf-sheath, internodes glabrous. Panicle (7)-10-16 × 1.5-12-(15) cm; branches few, long, filiform, ± closely, finely scabrid, each tipped by a single spikelet. Spikelets (4.5)-5-7 mm, light green. Glumes ± equal, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, scabrid above and on midnerve and hyaline margins, or sometimes sparsely scabrid throughout. Lemma (2.8)-3.2-3.7 mm, ± ½ length of glumes, 5-nerved, densely covered throughout by long, silky hairs, oblong, truncate, lateral nerves minutely excurrent, rarely lemma less hairy near apex and scabrid nerves clearly visible; awn 4-5.5-(6) mm, very fine, straight or ± curved, ± middorsal. Palea ⅔-¾ length of lemma, keels c. 0.1 mm apart, apex bifid. Callus hairs dense, 1.5-2 mm, to ⅔ length of lemma. Rachilla prolongation 0.5-0.8 mm, tipped by a dense tuft of hairs 1-2 mm. Lodicules 0.9-1.2 mm, linear. Anthers 0.9-1.3 mm. Caryopsis c. 2 × 0.7-1 mm.
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