Loosely tufted perennial; culms up to 45cm high, ascending from a spreading base, slender. Leaf-blades folded-setaceous, up to 10cm long, smooth on the lower (outer) surface, with 7 narrow strands of sclerenchyma, 1 on the keel, 1 along each margin and 1 below each of the lateral nerves; ligule a narrow rim c. 0.5mm long. Panicle narrowly oblong, 5-7cm long, contracted, the branches short, erect, scaberulous. Spikelets 4-6-flowered, 5-7.5mm long; lower glume 2-2.5mm long, 1-nerved; upper glume 2.6-3.3mm long, 3-nerved; lemmas narrowly oblong-elliptic in side-view, 3.5-4mm long, scabrid towards the tip, awnless; palea coarse¬ly scabrid along the keels; anthers 0.8-lmm long.