Narrow-leaved green tussocks, leaves much < culms; branching intra-vaginal. Leaf-sheath pale stramineous, often purplish above, glabrous; apical tuft of hairs to 1.7 mm, sparse or lacking. Ligule 0.3-0.5 mm. Leaf-blade to 30-(40) cm, usually rolled, ± glabrous at maturity, young leaves with scattered long, fine, silky hairs, margins and tip scabrid. Culm to 85 cm, internodes glabrous. Panicle often rather dense, strict, 10-(20) cm, branches short, of many spikelets on slender pedicels, or panicle smaller and fewer spikelets; rachis and pedicels densely short-scabrid, occasionally slightly longer hairs at branch axils. Spikelets 6-7-flowered, awns usually exserted from glumes. Glumes purple-margined, lanceolate, subacute, 7.6-11-(13.2) mm, ± equal; lower 5-7-nerved, upper 5-nerved. Lemma 1.8-2.2-(2.8) mm, 7-9-nerved, upper and lower rows of hairs dense, continuous, upper row ≤ lemma lobes, lower row usually not reaching base of upper, sometimes not well-defined, elsewhere numerous short scattered hairs, glabrous at times just below upper row, margins hair-fringed; lobes (3.5)-4-5-(8.5) mm, narrowed to fine awn, adaxially often a few longer hairs at base; central awn (6)-7-9.5-(12.5) mm, column 2.5-3 mm = upper lemma hairs » palea. Palea (2.5)-2.7-3.3-(4.6) mm, « upper lemma hairs, interkeel hairs few, short at base, margins usually long-hairy. Callus 0.5-0.7 mm, marginal hair tufts reaching to base of lower lemma hairs. Rachilla 0.3-0.4 mm. Anthers 0.8-1.5 mm. Caryopsis 1.2-1.9 × 0.6-0.8 mm; embryo 0.5-0.8 mm; hilum 0.3-0.6 mm. Plate 11C.
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