Perennial, tufted. Culms usually erect, rarely geniculately ascending, 15–40 cm tall. Leaf sheaths mostly clustered at plant base; ligule ca. 1 mm; leaf blades conduplicate or inrolled, 3–4 cm, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, margins and adaxial surface scabrid. Panicle mostly contracted, or spreading after anthesis, 5–10 cm; branches 2–4 cm, ascending, smooth. Spikelets 4–5 mm, purple tinged, florets 3 or 4; lower glume 1.5–1.8 mm, apex shortly acuminate, upper glume 2–2.5 mm, inconspicuously 3-veined, apex shortly acuminate; lemmas 2.5–3.5 mm, glabrous, with a raised keel, margins membranous, apex acute or acuminate, finely toothed; palea keels smooth or sparsely scabrid; anthers 1.3–1.8 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul. 2n = 14, 28.
Home