Sessile spikelet narrowly oblong-lanceolate; inferior glume 7.5–8.5 mm long, glabrous below, spinulose above and on the keels, subacute at the apex.
Inflorescence a solitary raceme 15–30 cm long; rhachis internodes and pedicels scaberulous.
Pedicelled spikelet 2–3 mm long, with an awn up to 2 cm long, but often absent.
Caespitose perennial; culms up to 100 cm high.