Light bluish green or rarely pale yellow-green perennial tufts, (2.5)-10-50-(65) cm, with stiff culms and leaves, or with finer and less rigid leaves; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath glabrous, submembranous to subcoriaceous, ± distinctly ribbed, light brownish to purplish. Ligule 0.7-1.5-(2) mm, glabrous, rounded to truncate, or ± tapered centrally and acute. Leaf-blade 1-12 cm ×c. 0.5 mm diam., involute, rigid and erect, or finer and softer, abaxially glabrous, adaxially sparsely scabrid on ribs, or sometimes densely scabrid throughout; margins scabrid, narrowed to fine acute tip. Culm (2)-5-20-(40) cm, erect, hidden by uppermost leaf-sheath at flowering, later visible, internodes glabrous. Panicle (2)-4.5-14.5-(20) × 0.2-5.5 cm, at first narrow-linear, racemose above, with few, erect, usually scabrid branches below, later more open with ± spreading branches naked below. Spikelets 3.5-9-(10.5) mm, 2-10-flowered, narrow, almost terete, light green to purplish. Glumes often quite unequal, elliptic-oblong, margins and sometimes midnerve minutely ciliate near apex; lower (0.6)-0.8-2.3 mm, 1-nerved, subacute to subobtuse, upper (1.3)-2-3.5 mm, 3-nerved, subobtuse to obtuse. Lemma (2)-2.5-3-(4) mm, 5-nerved, broad-elliptic, with very minute hairs at base not usually visible at ×10, and occasionally a few minute hairs on nerves near base, midnerve usually not quite reaching finely ciliate, obtuse apex. Palea ≤ lemma, apex bifid, keels scabrid in upper ⅔. Rachilla 0.5-1 mm. Anthers 0.4-1 mm. Caryopsis 1-1.8 × 0.4-0.7 mm.
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Caespitose annual or perennial. Culms erect, branching intravaginally (rarely extravaginally, forming a contracted rhizome that forces innovations to fan out), (2.5–) 9–75 cm high. Leaves: basal sheaths indurated, opaque, broader than culm; ligule 0.9–3 mm long; blade involute, 3–22 cm long, 0.5–1.6 mm wide. Inflorescence usually contracted at anthesis (may spread later), partially enclosed by flag leaf sheath, 5–31 cm long; lateral branches scabridulous, bearing spikelets throughout; primary branches undivided at least 0.5–2 (–5) mm, up to 4–15 (–30) mm; maximum total branch length 16–60 (–100) mm. Spikelets 4.5–12 mm long; bisexual florets 4–12. Lower glume 1–3 mm long; upper glume 1.5–3.8 mm long. Callus puberulous. Lemma 2–3.7 mm long, glabrous or puberulous near base; midvein not extending to apex. Palea 1.9–2.8 mm long; keels scabrous-ciliate in lower half. Anthers 0.5–0.9 mm long, creamy white.
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