Plants perennial; rhizomatous or stoloniferous, rhizomes or stolons to 5 cm. Culms 10–75 cm, erect or geniculate, with 2–5 nodes. Leaves basal and cauline; sheaths smooth; ligules 0.3–2 mm, shorter than wide, dorsal surfaces usually scabridulous, sometimes smooth, apices truncate to rounded, erose-ciliolate, sometimes lacerate; blades 3–10 cm long, 1–5 mm wide, flat. Panicles 3–20 cm long, less than 1/2 the length of the culm, (1–)2–12 cm wide, stiffly erect, widely ovate, open, exserted from the upper sheaths at maturity, lowest node with (2–)3–9(–13) branches; branches smooth or scabridulous, spreading during and after anthesis, spikelets usually confined to the distal 1/2, lower branches 1.5–7 cm; pedicels 0.4–3.3 mm, adjacent pedicels divergent. Spikelets lanceolate or oblong, purplish brown to greenish. Glumes subequal, 1.7–3 mm, 1-veined, acute; lower glumes scabridulous over the midvein towards the apices; upper glumes scabridulous or smooth over the midvein; calluses glabrous, or with a few hairs to 0.1 mm; lemmas 1.2–2.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, opaque to translucent, 3(–5)-veined, veins typically prominent, apices obtuse to acute, usually entire, sometimes the veins excurrent to 0.5 mm, usually unawned, rarely awned, sometimes varying within a panicle, awns to 2 mm, mid-dorsal, straight or geniculate; paleas 0.6–1.2(–1.4) mm, typically at least 1/2 the length of the lemmas, veins visible; anthers 3, 0.8–1.3 mm. Caryopses 0.8–1.5 mm; endosperm solid. 2n = 28.