Glaucous, small, stiff, dense perennial tufts, 7-25 cm; leaf-blades persistent; branching intravaginal, with a few extravaginal shoots at plant base. Basal leaf-sheaths very light brown, upper sheaths purple-green, coriaceous, distinctly ribbed, glabrous, very much wider than leaf-blade. Ligule 0.5-1.5 mm, apically glabrous, rounded, ± erose, abaxially scabrid. Leaf-blade (0.5)-1.5-5 cm long, folded, c. 3 mm wide if flattened, rigid, coriaceous, prominently nerved, abaxially usually smooth, adaxially densely, minutely scabrid, midrib scabrid near curved scabrid tip; margins scabrid, incurved. Culm 6-18-(25) cm, often entirely enclosed by sheaths of uppermost leaves, internodes minutely scabrid below panicle. Panicle 1.5-5.5 cm, contracted, oblong, narrow and spike-like, with numerous, densely packed spikelets; rachis and short stiff branches minutely scabrid. Spikelets 2.5-3.5 mm, (2)-3-4-flowered, light green, often purple-tinged. Glumes ± equal, almost overtopping spikelets, (1.5)-2-2.5-(3) mm, 3-nerved, midnerve sparsely scabrid; lower elliptic-lanceolate, subacute, upper oblong-elliptic, subobtuse, often scabrid near tip; margins sparsely scabrid. Lemma 2-2.5 mm, 5-nerved, ovate-elliptic, obtuse, midnerve scabrid, internerves minutely papillose and often minutely scabrid; margins membranous, wide, edged with scattered prickle-teeth. Palea c. 1.5 mm, keels scabrid, interkeel minutely papillose with a few prickle-teeth. Callus glabrous. Rachilla c. 0.5 mm, minutely papillose; prolongation occasionally twice as long. Lodicules 0.3-0.4 mm. Anthers 0.4-0.6 mm. Gynoecium: ovary 0.4-0.5 mm; stigma-styles 0.6-1.2 mm. Caryopsis c. 1 × 0.5 mm. 2n= 28.
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