Plants forming dense hummocks 0.3–1 m high, 0.3–2.5 m wide, with dark brown stolons, highly resinous on culms and leaves, not aromatic. Flowering culms 0.6–2 m high. Leaves sometimes pruinose or glaucous; basal sheaths ±loose, overlapping, not auriculate, many-nerved, sparsely silky-hairy on back; orifice bearded with resin-matted hairs to 3 mm long; blade flexuose or curling with age, folded, to 40 cm long, 0.6–1.3 mm wide, not pseudopetiolate, ribbed adaxially, with smooth margins. Panicles dense, to 40 cm long, 3.5–4 cm wide; branches simple or lower branches sparsely divided, flat or triquetrous, with prominent coloured pulvini; primary branches to 10 cm long; secondary branches 0.1–0.8 cm long. Spikelets closely or loosely overlapping, paired, contiguous, slender, cuneate, 4–6 mm long (including bristles), 2 mm wide, (1–) 3 (–4)-flowered, with uppermost floret often much reduced; pedicel 0.5–3.3 mm long. Glumes oblong or narrowly lanceolate, with midrib attenuated into a sharp scabrid mucro 0.7–1 mm long, scarious to cartilaginous, glabrous; lower glume 3–6 mm long, (1–) 3-nerved; upper glume 2.5–5 mm long, 1–3-nerved. Basal lemma lanceolate, 2.5–3.7 mm long (excluding bristle), scarious to cartilaginous, 3–9-nerved, hirsute in lower half; midlobe bristle-like, 0.8–2 mm long; lateral lobes flat, triangular, 0.3–0.7 mm long. Palea ±equal to lemma body, narrowly oblong-obovate, entire or bimucronulate (from keels), membranous or scarious, mostly glabrous; keels wingless. Anthers 1.5–1.8 mm long.
Growson rocky hillslopes and ridges in shallow soils associated with various rocktypes, in deep littoral sands, and on sandy creek banks and levees.
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