Perennial, forming dense tussocks, with wiry rhizomes. Culms 15–50 cm tall, ca. 1 mm in diam. Leaf sheaths glabrous, scabrid or retrorsely pubescent; leaf blades flat or rolled, 5–15 cm × 1–3 mm, glabrous to densely pubescent on one or both surfaces; ligule 0.5–5 mm. Panicle spikelike, 5–12 cm, lax and 1-sided to densely cylindrical. Spikelets gaping, 5–11 mm, pallid or purplish, fertile florets 1 or 2, terminal sterile lemmas gathered into globular cluster; lower glume broadly lanceolate, 1/3–3/4 length of upper, 3-veined, upper glume lanceolate, as long as spikelet, 5-veined, both acute; lemmas elliptic, lowest 4–7.5 mm, granular-scaberulous, 7–9-veined, densely hairy with 3–5 mm hairs along all veins, apex acute or 2-toothed, second lemma (when present) shorter, glabrous; palea keels shortly ciliolate. Anthers 1–1.8 mm. Fl. and fr. May–Aug. 2n = 18.
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