Plants forming hummocks to 0.8 m high and 1.7 m wide, stoloniferous. Flowering culms to 1.3 m high (often much shorter). Leaves: sheath indurated, glabrous or upper margins ciliate; orifice pubescent or with woolly hairs less than 3 mm long; blade folded, rigid, often horizontal, 2–7 cm long (shorter on flowering culms), 0.7–1.3 mm wide, with scarious pseudopetiole 1–1.5 mm long, with long fine pungent point, striate. Inflorescence a panicle 4–8 cm long, 1–3.5 cm wide, finally much-exserted, with spikelets on branches 0.2–1 cm long or sometimes on main axis. Spikelets solitary or paired, ovate or elliptic, 8–15 mm long, 5–7 mm wide, tightly 5–12-flowered, dark purple; pedicel slender, terete or flat, 3–15 mm long, those of paired spikelets unequal; rachilla internodes to 1 mm long, stout, terete. Glumes equal or unequal, ovate or ovate-orbicular, 3–5.5 mm long, acute, entire, mucronulate or not, cartilaginous, 5 (6–9)-nerved, glabrous. Callus minute, blunt, bearded. Basal lemma ovate, 4.5–5 mm long, acute, with 3 lobes c. 0.5 mm long (or midlobe slightly longer, subulate, incurved), cartilaginous with scarious margins, 3–5 (–9)-nerved, obtusely carinate, hirsute on body near base. Palea broadly elliptic to almost orbicular, equal to lemma or slightly longer, notched at apex, cartilaginous with scarious flaps; keels with broad wings with irregular undulate margins, visible in situ. Anthers 2–3 mm long.
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