Usually slender perennial tufts, c. 20-50 cm, occasionally stoloniferous, with brownish green leaves much overtopped by erect culms; branching extravaginal; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath often reddish purple, later grey-brown, submembranous, smooth or rarely slightly scabrid, ribs conspicuous. Ligule 1-4 mm, apically glabrous, entire, tapered, abaxially glabrous to finely pubescent-scabrid. Leaf-blade (3.5)-7.5-20 cm ×c. 1-3 mm, subcoriaceous, often flat, abaxially smooth, or scabrid on ribs, adaxially scabrid just above ligule and on ribs for some distance; margins finely scabrid with a few hairs just above ligule, midrib scabrid near curved tip. Culm (10)-15-35-(65) cm, internodes smooth or occasionally finely scabrid below panicle. Panicle 5-10-(15) cm, loosely spreading, with rather large spikelets at tips of fine, smooth to scabrid branches. Spikelets 3-6.5 mm, (2)-3-4-(6)-flowered, light green, often purplish. Glumes ± equal, usually purplish, subacute to acute, midnerve usually finely prickle-toothed near tip; lower 1.5-4 mm, 1-3-nerved, narrow elliptic-lanceolate, upper 2-5 mm, 3-nerved, elliptic-ovate; margins entire or finely ciliate near tip. Lemma (1.5)-2-5 mm, 5-(7)-nerved, ± ovate to oblong, obtuse to almost truncate, tip hyaline, usually purplish, nerves finely scabrid throughout or only in upper or lower part; in North Id plants lower ⅓ to ½ of midnerve and lower ¼ of outer lateral nerves with short hairs, internerves glabrous; in plants from South and Stewart Is nerves usually glabrous, rarely with a few wispy hairs on midnerve, internerves usually minutely ± sparsely scabrid, or smooth. Palea 1.5-4 mm, keels ciliate-scabrid, interkeel glabrous to shortly pubescent. Callus glabrous, occasionally with a few wispy hairs. Rachilla 0.5-1 mm, glabrous; prolongation twice as long. Lodicules 0.3-0.6 mm, rarely hair-tipped. Anthers 0.6-1-(1.2) mm. Caryopsis 1-1.5 ×c. 0.5 mm. 2n= 28.
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