Tufted annuals or short-lived perennials. Flowering culms 10–70 (–120) cm high, 2–3 (–4)-noded. Leaves: basal sheaths glabrous, with margins glabrous or pilose; orifice glabrous or bearded; ligule a fringe of hairs, 0.6–1 mm long; blade flat or convolute, linear, 5–30 (–50) cm long, 1–4 mm wide. Inflorescences closed, dense, 3–25 cm long; branches 1–4 cm long. Spikelets narrowly obovate or linear, 6–11 mm long, 6–12-flowered, pale or yellowish or purple. Glumes linear to lanceolate, erose or toothed; lower glume 2.5–4.5 (–5) mm long; upper glume 3.6–4.8 (–6) mm long. Callus bearded. Basal lemma linear to oblong or lanceolate, 4–6 mm long including lobes, carinate; midlobe bidentate and relatively broad; lateral lobes entire and consisting mostly of an awn; median awn arising from sinus of midlobe, much longer than lemma body, 3.6–8.0 mm long, straight (stiff but fine). Palea c. 3/4 length of lemma body, linear to oblong, with pubescent body.
Recorded from sandy islands and subcoastal sandhills, butmostly inland in arid and semi-arid areas on better watered sites such as creekfloodouts, swales and lower dune slopes, usually in clayey sand in associationwith open woodland or Acacia shrubland, but also onfiner textured red earths.
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