Small, greyish green or dull green, sometimes purple tinged, short-lived perennial, forming slender tufts to c. 22 cm with wiry leaves < culms; branching extravaginal and occasionally intravaginal above; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath pale brown to purplish, membranous, distinctly ribbed, almost smooth with a few minute prickle-teeth just below ligule especially near margins. Ligule 1-1.5 mm, ± lacerate with at least one deep cleft, ciliate, tip dentate, abaxially minutely pubescent-scabrid. Leaf-blade to 6 cm × 1 mm, folded, abaxially with sparse minute prickle-teeth on midrib, elsewhere smooth, adaxially with minute stiff hairs; margins ± inrolled, with very minute prickle-teeth. Culm to 15 cm, very slender, purplish, with 1-2 cauline leaves spreading at right angles, internodes glabrous. Panicle 2-6 cm, open, sparingly branched; rachis glabrous, branches capillary, sometimes flexuous, smooth, with a few minute prickle-teeth above, and with 1-2 spikelets at tips. Spikelets 2.2-3 mm, 2-3-flowered, silvery purplish green. Glumes subequal, 2-2.5 mm, with wide, hyaline margins, midnerve with sparse prickle-teeth near tip; lower narrower, elliptic-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, 1-3-nerved, upper ovate, obtuse, 3-nerved, sometimes with minute prickle-teeth on margins and on lateral nerves above. Lemma 2-2.4 mm, 5-nerved, ovate, obtuse, covered for ¾ length with appressed, silky hairs c. 0.1 mm, and with sparse minute prickle-teeth near membranous tip. Palea c. 2 mm, keels and interkeel with minute appressed hairs in lower ¾, keels minutely prickle-toothed above hairs. Callus with minute fine hairs. Rachilla to 0.5 mm with scattered long hairs or almost glabrous. Lodicules c. 0.4 mm. Anthers 0.7-1.1 mm, sometimes reddish. Stigma-styles 1-1.4 mm. Caryopsis c. 1.5 × 0.7 mm.
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