Lax, sometimes stoloniferous, perennial tufts, (5)-10-50 cm, with wide, flat, or narrow and folded, light or dull green leaves, and lax panicles often large in proportion to the plant; branching extravaginal; short plants with narrow involute leaves may be more densely tufted. Leaf-sheath submembranous, distinctly ribbed, smooth, or minutely scabrid above, green to creamy brown, sometimes purplish. Ligule 0.6-4 mm, ovate-oblong, ± truncate, denticulate to later ± lacerate, abaxially minutely scabrid. Leaf-blade 2-15 cm × 0.3-3.5-(6) mm, flat or folded, abaxially smooth to finely scabrid on ribs throughout or near tip, adaxially finely scabrid on ribs; margins minutely scabrid, tip subacute. Culm 3-25-(45) cm, erect or geniculate at base, longer culms projecting beyond uppermost sheaths, internodes usually finely scabrid below panicle. Panicle 4-25 × 1-16 cm, very lax or sometimes contracted after flowering, with widely spreading, finally horizontal branches; branches rather few, very finely, ± sparsely scabrid, with 1-2-several spikelets at branchlet-tips. Spikelets 2.3-4.5-(5) mm, pale green to light straw-coloured, greenish brown or purplish. Glumes subequal, ovate-elliptic or narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, acute, midnerve and hyaline margins scabrid near tip or in upper ½. Lemma (1.5)-2-2.5-(2.8) mm, ½-¾ length of glumes, 5-nerved, with numerous to scattered short fine hairs, sometimes almost completely glabrous, or the upper ⅓ ± glabrous, elliptic-oblong, truncate, lateral nerves slightly to obviously excurrent; awn (1.7)-2-6 mm, geniculate, ± middorsal. Palea c. ½ length to ≈ lemma, keels very faint, 0.1-0.2 mm apart, apex truncate, or obtuse, or shallowly notched. Callus hairs moderately dense, to 1 mm, to ⅓ length of lemma. Rachilla prolongation 0, or up to 1 mm, tipped by a few equally long, or longer hairs. Lodicules 0.7-0.9 mm, linear, acute. Anthers (0.3)-0.6-1.2-(1.5) mm. Caryopsis 1.2-2 × 0.4-0.8 mm. Plate 6B.
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