Hermaphroditic. Perennials; tufted, without horizontal or downward tending cataphyllous shoots, or frequently stoloniferous, tufts dense or more often loose, delicate to medium sized; tillers mostly extravaginal, cataphyllous, erect to ascending, sometimes intravaginal (especially along the lower culms). Culms (20--) 40--100 (--140) cm tall, few to several together or somewhat isolated, erect or bases decumbent, sometimes branching above base, terete, densely retrorse scabrous below nodes, merely muriculate below panicle; nodes 1--3 exerted, terete or slightly compressed, proximal nodes often broader than the culm, slightly swollen, uppermost node at or above (1/3--)1/2 the culm. Leaves; leaf sheaths slightly compressed, basal most sheaths, bulb absent, glabrous, nearly smooth to densely retrorsely scabrous on lowest sheaths,, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, flag-leaf sheath margins fused 1/10 to 1/5 the length, (3.3--)7--20 cm, 0.7--2.2 x long as its blade; throats; collars; ligules (1--) 1.5-3.2 (-6) mm long, smooth or sparsely to moderately scabrous, apices obtuse to acute, frequently dentate, usually minutely ciliolate; blades (6--) 10--15 (--17) cm long, (0.8--) 1--3 (--8) mm wide, flat, usually several on the culm, steeply ascending or spreading to 80o, often lax distally, abaxially smooth, veins slightly expressed, margins slightly scabrous, adaxially lightly scabrous over the veins, narrowly prow-tipped; cauline blades steeply graduated above the cataphylls, the upper cauline blades longest. sterile shoot blades like those of the culm but shorter, more scabrous. Panicles (9--) 10--25 (--41) cm, generally 1/3--1/2 as broad as long at maturity (intially very narrow), lax, eventually open, sparsely to moderately congested, with 25 to over 100 spikelets, peduncles generally scabrous or merely muriculate; axis with 2--9 branches per node; primary branches initially erect, eventually spreading to slightly reflexed, fairly straight, or slightly flexuous, slender, angled, angles densely scabrous. longest branches 4--8 (--15) cm, 3/10--1/2 the panicle length. with (5--) 10--40 spikelets. Spikelets 3--5 mm long, 3- 3.5 x long as wide, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, laterally compressed, not bulbiferous; florets (1--)2--5; rachilla internodes mostly less than 1 mm long, smooth or more often muriculate, rarely sparsely hispidulous, not softly puberulent; glumes subulate to lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or lightly scabrous; lower glumes 3-veined, long tapered to a slender point, 6.4--10 x long as wide; calluses sparsely to moderately densely webbed, hairs (1/2) to usually over 2/3 the length of the lemma; lemmas 2--3 mm long, 5-veined, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels straight or gradually arched, usually abruptly inwardly arched at the junction of the scarious apices, keels and marginal veins villous, between veins muriculate, glabrous, intermediate veins obscure, margins distinctly inrolled, glabrous, smooth, apices obtuse or acute, usually bronze colored in part, frequently incurved and blunt with a short hyaline margin; paleas scabrous over the keels, intercostal region glabrous, muriculate. Flowers bisexual; anthers 1.3--1.8 mm long; Portal has (0.8) 1--1.2 (--1.4); (1--)1.2--1.4 in var. glabra; caryopses 1.4--2.3 mm long, elliptical in side-view, subcylindrical in cross-section, honey to reddish-brown, very shallowly sulcate, hilum 0.2 mm long, oval, grain adherent to the palea. 2n = 28, 30, 32, 35, 42, 56, 84 all foreign. Genotype: Ss