Rather open tufts to 50 cm, with dull green, narrow, inrolled leaves overtopped by narrow to ± lax, usually purplish panicles; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath 1-3 cm, densely softly pubescent, with longer scattered hairs on sheaths of culm-leaves, and sometimes on margins. Ligule 0.4-0.8 mm, erose, minutely ciliate. Leaf-blade 2-16 cm, usually inrolled and < 1 mm diam., rarely flat and up to 2 mm wide, sometimes with scattered long hairs, abaxially smooth or with very minute prickle-teeth, adaxially shallowly ribbed with scattered very fine prickle-teeth on ribs; margins minutely prickle-toothed, sometimes with scattered long hairs. Culm 8-34-(40) cm, slender, internodes with long fine hairs above nodes and a small band of shorter hairs below nodes, uppermost internode glabrous. Panicle 2-10 × 0.5-2 cm, narrow-lanceolate to somewhat open, with visible rachis and short, ascending to spreading branches bearing clustered spikelets; rachis and branches with moderately dense, fine prickle-teeth and often a few longer hairs at lower nodes of rachis and at base of panicle. Spikelets 4-6.5 mm, often purplish. Glumes unequal, with sparse short prickle-teeth on keel; lower ⅔-¾ length of upper, oblong-lanceolate, upper < to ≈ spikelet, elliptic-lanceolate; margins with very few minute prickle-teeth near acute to acuminate tip. Lemma 3-4.5 mm, bicuspid, minutely papillose; awn 3-4 mm, ± recurved, insertion in upper ¼ of lemma. Palea minutely prickle-toothed on keels and margins. Callus hairs c. 0.2 mm. Rachilla hairs to 0.8 mm. Lodicules to 1 mm, glabrous. Anthers to 1.5 mm. Gynoecium: ovary to 0.8 mm; stigma-styles to 1 mm. Caryopsis not seen.
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