Hermaphroditic. Perennials; tufted, without horizontal or downward tending cataphyllous shoots, tufts dense, small to medium sized; glaucous; tillers mostly extravaginal, cataphyllous, erect, all or most flowering within a season, next year's shoots set late in the growing season. Culms 10--35 cm, erect to spreading, straight, wiry, bases straight or slightly decumbent; culms more or less terete, smooth or nearly so below the nodes and panicle; nodes usually with 0--1 exerted, uppermost usually in proximal 1/10--1/3 of culm. Leaves; leaf sheaths terete, basal most sheaths, bulb absent, smooth or nearly so; bases of basal sheaths glabrous or with sparse minute hairs, flag-leaf sheath margins fused 1/10--1/5 the length, 3--10 cm, (1.1--)1.1--4 x long as its blade; throats smooth; collars smooth; ligules 1--4(--5) mm long, upper ligules usually 2.5--3.5 mm sparsely to densely scabrous, apices obtuse to acute, minutely ciliolate; of sterile shoots (not applicable); blades 0.8--2.5 mm wide, flat or folded, thin, soft, appressed or abruptly ascending to spreading, straight, narrowly prow-tipped; cauline blades increasing in length distally, (without sterile shoots, or the new shoots initially without blades). Panicles 3--10(--20) cm long, generally 1/5--1/3 as broad as long at maturity, or rarely raceme-like with branches of irregular length, erect, narrowly lanceoloid to ovoid, contracted or somewhat open, fairly strict, sparse, proximal internodes less than 1.5 (--4) cm long; axis with 2--3(--5) branches per node; primary branches erect, ascending, or weakly spreading, eventually contracted or loosely contracted, fairly straight, short, stout, 2--3 angled, angles moderately to densely scabrous, rarely nearly smooth for much of the length and angles distally scabrous, glaucous; lateral pedicels mostly shorter than spikelets; Spikelets 3--7(--9) mm long, 2--3 x long as wide, laterally compressed, not bulbiferous, usually glaucous; florets 2--5; rachilla internodes up to 1.2 mm long, smooth, sparsely to densely hispidulous or softly puberulent; glumes subequal, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or lightly scabrous, apices acute; lower glumes 3-veined; upper glumes 2--3.8(--5.2) mm long, usually more than 4.1 x long as wide, distinctly shorter to subequaling lowest lemmas; calluses glabrous or webbed, web from minute to more than 1/2 the lemma in length; lemmas 2.5--4 mm long, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, deeply violaceous in part, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins villous, intermediate veins usually sparsely softly puberulent to short villous, between veins smooth, sometimes weakly muriculate, glabrous or softly puberulent, intermediate veins obscure, proximal margins distinctly inrolled, glabrous, distal edges sparsely to moderately scaberulous, apices usually bronze colored in part, obtuse or acute; paleas scabrous, glabrous or medially softly puberulent over the keels, intercostal region glabrous or softly puberulent. Flowers bisexual; anthers 1.2--2. mm long, rarely aborted late in development and narrower and shorter in viviparous plants; caryopses. Genotype: Ss