Perennials, densely tufted, not rhizomatous; shoots all intravaginal. Culms (10–)20–85 cm tall, 1–2 mm in diam., smooth, nodes 2 or 3, 1–3 exserted, uppermost node to 1/3–1/2 way up. Leaf sheaths keeled, smooth or infrequently sparsely scabrid, glabrous, lowermost loose, short, firm, becoming papery, 7–15 cm, 1.5–5 × as long as blade, uppermost closed for 1/3 of length; blade usually folded with slightly inrolled margins, thickly papery, 3–9 cm × 1–2(–3) mm, abaxially smooth or infrequently sparsely scabrid, shiny, ribs indistinct, margins scabrid, adaxially often pale, scabrid, of tillers to 4–30 cm; ligule 0.5–1.2(–1.5) mm, apex truncate to obtuse, ciliolate, abaxially scabrid or with coarse short hairs, collars of lower and tiller leaves with a distinctly wedge-shaped zone of dense, short, stiff strigose to subvillous hairs, margins sometimes with a few ciliate hairs. Panicle open, broadly triangular, well exserted, (4–)6–15(–20) × 3–10(–15) cm, longest internodes 1–3.5 cm; branches spreading, flexuous, (1–)2 or 3(–5) per node, proximally rounded or weakly angled, smooth or sparsely scabrid, distally smooth and rounded to densely scabrid on and between angles, longest 2.5–8 cm with 3–15 spikelets in distal 1/3–1/2; flowers rarely female. Spikelets elliptic to oblong, (3.7–)4–8 mm, florets 2–4(–6); vivipary absent; rachilla internodes to 1.2 mm, smooth or scabrid, glabrous or hispidulous to pilulose; glumes ovate to oblong, purplish, unequal to subequal, firm, surfaces minutely punctate with purple papillae, apex acute to acuminate, keel nearly smooth to quite scabrid, lower glume (2.1–)2.5–4 mm, 1-or 3-veined, upper glume (3–) 3.5–5 mm, 3(–5)-veined, apex acuminate; lemmas proximally light green, becoming purplish distally, firm, (3.9–)4.2–5(–6) mm, 5–7-veined, apex acute to acuminate, keel villous to pilulose for 2/3 of length, marginal veins for 1/3, intermediate veins prominent, sometimes shortly villous to pilulose, proximally scabrid, or minutely bumpy throughout, glabrous or sparsely pilulose to shortly villous between veins; callus webbed or infrequently glabrous; palea scabrid or pilulose between keels, keels scabrid, sometimes medially pilulose. Anthers 1.8–2.5 mm, or vestigial. Fl. and fr. Jun–Sep.
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