Plants with extended rhizomes. Culms erect or slightly geniculate below, 40–75 cm tall, 2–3 mm in diam., 2-or 3-noded, densely pubescent just below spike. Leaf sheath persistent at base and becoming fibrous, usually puberulent; ligule 1–2 mm, membranous, apex obtuse; leaf blade involute, 6–18 × 0.2–0.4 cm, both surfaces densely puberulent. Spike erect, lax, greenish, 8–18 × 0.6–0.8 cm; rachis densely pubescent; internodes 0.5–2(–5) cm. Spikelets 1 or 2 per node, all pedicellate, 1.1–1.8 cm, with 4–8 florets; pedicel 0.1–1.4 cm, densely pubescent; rachilla densely puberulent; internodes 0.5–2 mm. Glumes lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 1–3-veined, glabrous or scabrous abaxially, margin membranous, apex with awn 2–4 mm; proximal glume 5–6.5 mm; distal glume 6–7.5 mm. Lemma lustrous, lanceolate, obscurely 5-veined, glabrous or scabrous abaxially, pubescent along or near margin; first lemma 7–10 mm with short awn 1–3 mm. Palea slightly shorter than lemma, sparsely spinulose along keels, glabrous between keels, apex bifid. Anthers yellow, ca. 4 mm. Caryopsis brown, ca. 4.9 × 1.1 mm, apex pubescent.