Small, compact, light green or blue-green tussocks; leaves pungent, acicular, ≈ or usually slightly < culms, disarticulating at ligule; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath pale stramineous; apical tuft of hairs to 1.5-(2.5) mm. Ligule (0.3)-0.5 mm. Leaf-blade to 15 cm, glabrous, stiff, inrolled, margins scabrid. Culm to 25 cm, internodes smooth but scabrid below inflorescence. Panicle racemose, small, compact, erect, to 4-(6) cm, of very few spikelets on short slender pedicels; rachis and pedicels short-scabrid with few longer hairs below spikelets and at branch axils. Spikelets 4-5-(6)-flowered, awns equalling or slightly exserted from glumes. Glumes sometimes purplish, lanceolate, acute or subacute, 9-11-(15) mm, ± equal; lower (3)-5-(7)-nerved, upper 3-nerved. Lemma 2-2.5-(2.8) mm, 9-nerved, upper row of hairs continuous but sparse, with one or two stronger marginal tufts and tufts of few hairs between, « lemma lobes, lower row of strong marginal tufts and scattered tufts between, just reaching to upper row, glabrous elsewhere but occasional hairs centrally and on margins; lobes 3-5-(6) mm, tapering to fine awn; central awn 7-8.5 mm, column (1.5)-2-2.5 mm, usually > upper lemma hairs. Palea 3.5-4 mm, usually > upper lemma hairs, interkeel glabrous, margins very rarely with 1-2 long hairs. Callus (0.3)-0.4-(0.5) mm, sparse marginal hair tufts reaching lower lemma hairs. Rachilla 0.6-0.9 mm. Anthers 0.6-1-(1.6) mm, red or pinkish red. Caryopsis 1.5-1.8 × 0.6-0.8 mm; embryo 0.6-0.8 mm; hilum 0.4-0.5 mm. Plate 11D.
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