Plants forming hummocks 0.5–1.5 m high, 0.4 m wide. Culms scaberulous, pubescent on lower internodes and often below upper nodes; flowering culms 50–88 cm high. Leaves: sheath often scaberulous between thick nerves, pilose or glabrous, often ciliate on margins; orifice and collar pubescent or bearded; blade sometimes flexuose, folded, 15–23 (–60) cm long, 0.8–1 mm wide, closely nerved on lower surface, glabrous or sometimes hairy; pseudopetiole 1–3 mm long. Panicles loose, lanceolate or oblong, 14–27 cm long, 2–6 (–10) cm wide; axis strongly 3-angled, scabrouspubescent, often bearded near axils; primary branches to 14 cm long, slender, usually flattened, with lower ones often further divided; secondary branches to 33 mm long. Spikelets cuneate, 12–22 mm long excluding awns, loosely 2–7-flowered; pedicel 3–27 mm long, slender; rachilla internodes 2–3 mm long. Glumes unequal, linear-lanceolate, entire, long-acuminate, shortly awned, scarious or cartilaginous, 1–3 (–5)-nerved, glabrous or ciliate on margins; lower glume 10–20 mm long; upper glume 17–30 mm long. Callus pungent to subacute, 1–2 mm long, bearded except midnerve and tip. Basal lemma 7–10 mm long (body and callus), cartilaginous with narrow hyaline margins, 1–3-nerved, silky-hairy; midlobe (including awn) 25–37 mm long; lateral lobes (with awns) 14–24 mm long. Palea usually c. 8 mm long, entire, acuminate, cartilaginous to membranous or hyaline, pubescent near base, scaberulous above; apex ciliate; keels wingless, thick and smooth proximally and acute and scabrous-ciliolate distally; flaps cartilaginous with hyaline margins. Anthers 4–5 mm long.
Grows on sand plains, dunes and stony rises, in red, grey and calcareous sands.
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