Culms to 3 m, ca. 1 cm in diam.; internodes terete, to 40 cm, basally grooved above branches; wall thick, pith spongy; nodes weakly prominent or not; intranode 7–9 mm; sheath base persistent, initially glaucous and retrorsely hairy. Branches 1–3 per node. Culm sheaths late deciduous, nearly persistent, green, ca. 1/3 as long as internodes, densely pubescent and sparsely setose or subglabrous, apically glaucous; auricles ovate or oblong, densely ciliate; oral setae curved; ligule very short, slightly prominent, margin shortly ciliolate; blade ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, margin ciliolate, apex acuminate. Leaves 6–10 per ultimate branch; sheath initially pubescent, margin ciliolate; auricles initially small and rounded, obscure when old; oral setae 3–15 mm, fringed, or deciduous; ligule truncate, very short, densely hairy and glaucous, entire or unevenly laciniate; blade 9–27(–34) × 0.8–2.5(–3.5) cm, abaxially shortly hairy, secondary veins 5-or 6-paired, base rounded, margin minutely serrulate, apex acuminate. Inflorescence unknown. New shoots early May.