Perennial, loosely tufted with a few stout rhizomes. Culms 1.5–3 m tall, up to 1 cm in diam., many-noded; nodes puberulous. Leaf sheaths glabrous, ciliate at mouth and margins; leaf blades yellowish green, linear or linear-lanceolate, 40–90 × 3–5 cm, glabrous, midvein robust, margins ciliolate; ligule 0.5–1 mm, puberulous. Panicle open, ovate or broadly ovate, 30–55 cm; primary branches in whorls of 3–6; lower part bare, upper part branched, branches tipped by racemes; racemes fragile, composed of 3–7 spikelet pairs. Sessile spikelet ovate, 3.8–4.5 mm; callus obtuse, pubescent with pale hairs; lower glume subleathery, pale or purple-tinged, thinly pilose, 9–13-veined, veins distinct in upper part, apex acute to apiculate or tridenticulate; upper lemma acute or emarginate, awnless, rarely with short awn. Pedicelled spikelet staminate, linear-lanceolate, 4–5.5 mm, yellowish to pale purple. Fl. and fr. summer–autumn. 2n = 20.
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A grass which keeps growing from year to year. It has a few stout underground stems or rhizomes. The stem is erect and grows 2-3 m tall. The leaf blade is 30-100 cm long by 1-5 cm wide. The flowers are in a loose panicle. This is 20-60 cm long. There are 2-6 spikelets in each group. The seed is very small.
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