Annuals or short-lived perennials. Major roots capillary to slender, 0.1–0.2 mm. Culms tufted, erect or slightly decumbent at base, 25–80 cm tall, 1–3.5 mm in diam., smooth or sparsely scabrid below nodes, nodes 2–4, 1 or 2 exserted, uppermost ca. 1/2 way up culm. Leaf sheaths smooth, glabrous, 6–15 cm, 0.5–1 × as long as blade, uppermost closed for ca. 1/2 of length; blades flat or folded, moderately thin, uppermost 8–30 cm × 1.5–5 mm, abaxial surface and margins smooth or sparsely scabrid, adaxially scabrid, keel and 4–10 primary veins abaxially pronounced, apex slender prow-tipped; ligule 1–2(–5) mm, apex obtuse, abaxially scabrid, collar glabrous. Panicle open, eventually exserted, 8–25 cm, longest internode ca. 4 cm; branches initially ascending and flexuous, eventually spreading or reflexed and lax, mostly 2 per node, scabrid all round, angled in part, longest 8–11 cm with 5–13 spikelets loosely arranged in distal 1/2. Spikelets lanceolate, purple tinged, (4–)5–7 mm, florets 2 or 3; vivipary absent; rachilla internodes ca. 1 mm, usually densely slender-scabrid to hispidulous; glumes thinner-textured than the lemmas, frequently purple on margins or all over, keel scabrid, surface uniformly minutely punctate, apex sharply acute, lower glume narrowly lanceolate, 3.3–4.6 mm, 1-or 3-veined, upper glume lanceolate 3.8–5 mm, 3-veined; lemmas 3.7–5.2 mm, moderately firm, apex sharply acute, margins very narrowly membranous, with a narrow purple band, keel and marginal veins scabrid, intermediate veins faint to moderately prominent, areas between veins usually densely scabrid over most of the surface; callus of proximal florets sparsely webbed, hairs short, callus of distal florets glabrous; palea scabrid throughout. Anthers 0.7–1.6 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug.
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