Tufts usually dense, to 40 cm, with dull green rather rigid leaves usually reaching or sometimes overtopping the dense, spike-like panicles; branching extravaginal at plant base, sometimes intravaginal above. Leaf-sheath to 4 cm, very minutely pubescent or with extremely minute appressed hairs between ribs. Ligule 0.2-0.6 mm, truncate, erose, often sparsely minutely ciliate, abaxially sometimes minutely prickle-toothed. Leaf-blade 3.5-22 cm × 1.5-3-(4) mm, flat or inrolled, abaxially smooth but scabrid near long-narrowed tip, adaxially ribbed with sparse to dense minute hairs and prickle-teeth on ribs, hairs slightly longer near ligule; margins minutely prickle-toothed. Culm 4-30 cm, internodes glabrous, occasionally a few minute prickle-teeth below panicle. Panicle (2)-4-10-(15) × 0.6-2.5 cm, compact, oblong, very dense, or with some lower branches more obvious and slightly spreading; rachis glabrous, branches and pedicels smooth or with sparse minute prickle-teeth or sometimes minute hairs. Spikelets 4.5-7 mm, greyish green or brownish amber. Glumes unequal, hyaline, keel thickened with sparse long prickle-teeth on upper ½; lower ⅔-⅘ length of upper, linear-lanceolate, upper slightly < spikelet, elliptic; margins with prickle-teeth near acuminate to almost mucronate tip. Lemma 4-6.2 mm, bidentate to shortly bicuspid, papillose, prickle-toothed above and on keel; awn 3.5-6 mm, straight to later recurved, insertion in upper ¼ of lemma. Palea with minute prickle-teeth on keels and usually on margins. Callus hairs to 0.5 mm. Rachilla hairs to 2.5 mm. Lodicules c. 1 mm, glabrous. Anthers 1-1.7 mm. Gynoecium: ovary c. 0.8 mm; stigma-styles to 1.3 mm. Caryopsis 2.5-3 ×c. 0.6 mm.
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