Perennial, tufted; roots woolly. Culms 55–80 cm tall, 0.5–2 mm in diam., 4–5-noded. Leaf sheaths longer than internodes, basal sheaths membranous, short, bladeless, retrorsely scabrid-pubescent on veins, upper sheaths smooth, glabrous, pilose at collar; leaf blades thin, 10–18 cm × 3–6 mm, abaxial surface scaberulous, adaxial surface slightly scaberulous; ligule 1–1.5 mm. Panicle open, ca. 14 cm; branches 2 per node, finally horizontally spreading, slender, not or scarcely branched, bearing relatively few distant spikelets; pedicels 3–5 mm. Spikelets 5–7.5 mm, greenish brown, fertile florets 1 or 2, 1 smaller sterile floret raised on 2–2.5 mm, scabrid internode; glumes unequal, shorter than adjacent floret, narrowly lanceolate, lower glume 3.8–5.8 mm, upper glume 5–6 mm, both acute; lemmas narrowly lanceolate-oblong, purple tinged, lowest 5–6 mm, herbaceous, granular-scaberulous, 5–7-veined, upper margins and apex narrowly membranous, apex subacute; palea keels ciliolate. Anthers 1–1.25 mm. Fl. Jul–Sep.