Rather coarse, stiff tufts, 20-60 cm. Leaf-sheath firmly membranous, glabrous. Ligule 1.5-3 mm, abaxially smooth, rarely sparsely scabrid. Leaf-blade 4-15 cm ×c. 0.5 mm diam., often involute, or flat and up to 2 mm wide. Culm 7-30 cm. Panicle 4-20 × 1-18 cm; branches closely scabrid. Spikelets 3-4 mm. Glumes dissimilar; lower slightly shorter, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, 1-nerved, upper elliptic-ovate, ± acuminate, 3-nerved. Lemma 2.5-3 mm, elliptic-lanceolate; awn 2.5-4 mm, straight or ± curved. Palea keels c. 0.3 mm apart. Callus hairs 0.3-0.4 mm. Rachilla prolongation almost 0, or to 0.9 mm, with hairs to 1.2 mm. Lodicules 0.8-0.9 mm. Anthers (0.5)-0.6-0.7 mm. Caryopsis 1.3-1.6 × 0.4 mm.