Tufted perennial without rhizomes; culms 30-90 cm high, erect or spreading, slender to moderately stout, hairy at and towards the nodes, otherwise smooth and glabrous. Leaf-blades up to 35 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, mostly loosely hairy, rarely hairless and rough; sheaths loosely hairy with spreading or reflexed hairs, or the upper smooth, rarely all hairless. Inflorescence 6-20 cm long, bearing 4-12 spikelets. Spikelets 2-4 cm long, cylindrical, narrowly oblong or lanceolate, 8-16-flowered, glumes lanceolate or the upper narrowly oblong, sharply pointed or the upper very shortly awned, usually hairy, the lower 6-8 mm long, 5-7-nerved, the upper 8-11 mm long, 7-9-nerved; lemmas oblong-lanceolate, 7-11 mm long, shortly and stiffly hairy, rarely only rough or quite smooth, acute, tipped by an awn up to 12 mm long; anthers 3.5-4 mm long.