perennial; culms 1 1/2–3 ft. long, rather stout, 3–4-noded, appressedly hirsute or pubescent, at least below the nodes and at the top; sheaths usually exceeding the internodes except the uppermost, terete, tight, scantily hairy to villous or glabrescent, bearded at the nodes; ligules membranous, 1/2–1 lin. long, glabrous; blades lanceolate-linear, gradually passing into the sheath, shortly acute, 4–7 in. by 3–6 lin., flat, suberect, firm, glabrous or more or less appressedly hairy; racemes (false spikes) 2–7 on a short, common axis, suberect, stout, 2–6 in. long, joints and pedicels linear, stout, with long silvery grey hairs mainly along the margins and round the base, about 1 1/2–2 1/2 lin. long; spikelets crowded, ferruginous, lanceolate, 2 1/2–3 1/2 lin. long; glumes coriaceous, the lower minutely truncate, dorsally depressed, margins broadly inflexed, keels long and densely ciliate; upper glume lanceolate, boat-shaped, shining, 3-nerved, keel ciliate above; lower valve empty, almost as long as the subtending glume, membranous below, hyaline above, 2-nerved, margins inflexed, ciliate; upper valve ovate-oblong, about 1 1/2 lin. long, acutely bifid to the middle, lobes ciliate, awn 7–10 lin. long, kneed above the middle; pale small, oblong, obtuse, ciliate; anthers 1 1/2 lin. long. null